Wilson Bethel, who boarded Daredevil in Season Three as crazed F.B.I. agent-turned-costumed assassin Benjamin ‘Dex’ Poindexter, says a more fully-realized version of the supervillain known to comic book readers will exist in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“What [showrunner] Erik [Oleson] has done is really take a character who is iconic and a lot of fans feel strongly about, but who doesn’t actually have a particularly in-depth backstory,” Bethel told THR of Dex’s extended origin story in Season Three.
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“He had the chance to really be the architect of a Bullseye that is not known even to comic book fans and create an origin story that didn’t really exist. The Bullseye that fans know is the one that will exist at some point in the future, after the end of this season.”
Bethel’s mentally fragile and deadly-accurate decorated special agent, who spends much of the season suited up in a repurposed superhero costume and committing violent crimes as an imposter Daredevil at the orders of a vengeful Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), ironically finds himself in the devastated state where Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) began the season.
“By the very end of the season, he’s basically lost it all, so it’ll be very interesting to see where Dex goes from here,” Bethel said. “He’s almost in a similar place to where Matt Murdock was at the beginning of the season. His life, as he has known it, is over.”
Asked about the season-ending teaser that cleverly shows a bullseye reflected in Dex’s eye, hinting at Poindexter eventually being recognized as Bullseye, Bethel said he hopes to use that scene as a springboard to become the unrepentant archfoe of Daredevil as seen in the Marvel comic books.
“There’s nothing of any kind that’s concrete about future plans, but I think even in this season, he’s not the Bullseye that people necessarily expect to see, which is a truly gleefully unhinged baddie,” Bethel said.
“This season deals a lot with his descent, and what’s going on in his head and how he expresses himself through violence, and finds some relief in that. From what I understand, the version of Bullseye in the comics is grinning ear to ear while he’s doing f—ed up sh-t, and that’s not really who you see in this show yet. But I think we’re starting to get an idea of how he gets there.
“I would love to play that character at some point, and I think there’s a version of Dex that starts out in the next season of this show, trying to rebuild from the rubble of his life, and finds this whole new trajectory that gets him there. For now, what’s so special is we got to create something completely new, and experience Ben Poindexter the man, even knowing where he’s ultimately going.”
Oleson told ComicBook.com he’s hopeful and excited to return for a fourth season.
All episodes of Daredevil are now available for streaming exclusively on Netflix.