‘Daredevil’ Star Charlie Cox Says Superhero Will Face Greater Challenges
Daredevil star Charlie Cox talks about the changes that have occurred within Matt Murdock since the season finale, and how Season 2 will be different. Charlie also teases a new villain, someone that may test Murdock’s own sense of morality, as well as his strengths as the hero.
Daredevil Star Charlie Cox Discusses How Matt Murdock Is A Changed Man
The Daredevil star reveals that Season 2 will pick up with Matt Murdock and his alter ego each feeling pretty good about life in general. Wilson Fisk is behind bars, and the crime rate has plummeted, giving Daredevil just a little bit of a break. As a result, Cox says the character has had a chance to get accustomed to the superhero lifestyle, and that he’s started to accept and even enjoy it, but that euphoric feeling won’t last very long.
“Over the course of this season, very quickly he comes up against a challenge that is perhaps even more difficult to contain than even Wilson Fisk and that, of course, is incredibly humbling.”
When asked to expound on that challenge, Charlie says Daredevil will come up against Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), who initially seems to be just another supervillain. Murdock tries to equate him with the likes of Wilson Fisk, but, as events progress, Cox reveals that things will become less cut and dry for Daredevil.
The public and the media will begin to compare Castle (A.K.A. The Punisher) with Daredevil and, although Murdock resists those ideas, he will eventually come around to see that they really are alike in the goals they’re each trying to achieve. Daredevil may not agree with The Punisher’s methods, but he does come to terms with the fact that they want the same things.
Mr. Cox suggests that his character’s own arrogance may be Daredevil’s undoing this season. By the second episode of Daredevil, as Matt Murdock is told to let the police handle Castle, he’s already convinced only he can bring down this one villain.
“Matt Murdock says, ‘This guy is going to pile up through the cops. They’re not going to do anything.’ If you think about what you’re suggesting, especially as a lawyer, that’s an incredibly controversial arrogant statement to make,” suggests the Daredevil actor. “He’s saying the cops collectively couldn’t bring down one guy, but I might be able to.”
Meet The Woman Behind Elektra, The Supervixen To Steal Daredevil’s Heart
There have been many incarnations of Elektra on both television and the big screen. Who could forget leather-clad Jennifer Garner in the theatrical role? While some criticize Élodie Yung’s incarnation on Daredevil, suggesting that version of the character is lacking something, Yung dismisses comments from such critics as nonsense. Yung should know. Upon learning that she had been awarded the Elektra role in the Daredevil series, Élodie bought and read every issue in the comic book series, a collection which she now refers to as her Elektra bible.
“Elektra isn’t a villain and isn’t a good girl but as Frank Miller [comic book writer and Elektra creator] said, she is one of the villains with a weak streak in them, and that’s a failure that I tried to explore.”
In truth, there are differences between the Elektra comic book character and Élodie Yung’s portrayal of her on Daredevil. The most obvious change is her updated wardrobe, but, perhaps even more substantial than that, comes the change in the way the character is handled. In the Daredevil comic books, Elektra is little more than eye candy, or, at best, a vehicle for moving the story forward. Yung wanted a more vital role for the Daredevil character she was to portray.
“The writers wanted her to be a sociopath,” Yung says, “I think when you read the comics there are those elements. She has no guilt and no remorse and she kills. But she also has this bond and this love for Matthew when they were younger. And that was important to me to keep in mind. I didn’t want to make a caricature version of Elektra.”
[Image by Netflix]
