Matthew Lillard Talks Playing an Original Character for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 [Exclusive]

Marvel Studios is coming out swinging big billy clubs in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, as Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox) goes to war with Mayor Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) for control of NYC. We already know that Daredevil will likely be getting help from other vigilante heroes like Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Jack Duquesne/Swordsman (Tony Dalton), and some other surprise allies, but there are also some unknown players lurking on the board.

Dardevil: Born Again Season 2 will feature some recurring characters of note, including The Conjuring star Lili Taylor as Marge McCaffrey, governor of New York, and Scream star Matthew Lillard as “Mr. Charles.” Lillard’s role has been described as a “power player” who begins to trip Kingpin up in the areas of “politics and international diplomacy,” which is too vague for a Marvel Cinematic Universe character played by a famous name. So who is Mr. Charles, really?

Matthew Lillard Teases His New Daredevil: Born Again Character

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As far as we know, Mr. Charles is an original character who has been invented for the MCU, just like Agent Phil Coulson. ComicBook’s Chris Killian was speaking with Matthew Lillard for the launch of Macabre Spirits’ Ghost Face Vodka (which debuted on February 9th). We had to ask the actor whether it feels like a massive burden to have to create an MCU character fans love, from scratch.

“No, it doesn’t. I mean, it didn’t really,” Lillard explained. “It’s irrelevant to me in terms of where he comes or how he comes into the game. Sure. Listen, don’t get me wrong, either the MCU or DC universe, I would love to play a character that everyone knows and loves.”

“There’s something really great about playing a William Afton-like character [villain of the horror-gaming film Five Nights at Freddy’s] that comes with weight that you can build on, fan expectations that you can fulfill… these hopes and dreams of fans,” he continued. “Like, I would love to play something like Shaggy [from the Scooby Doo live-action movies]. Same thing. Like you’re stepping into something that has relevance, that has a tapestry to pull on. That makes it fun as an actor. So not having that also doesn’t bother me because you just fill it out yourself.”

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Some fans are skeptical that “Mr. Charles” is actually who he appears to be. The MCU has many different powerful organizations with international reach that may have a problem with Wilson Fisk’s stranglehold on NYC. Mr. Charles could be anything from a representative for a corporation like Roxxon to someone who intersects the worlds of business, crime, and mysticism as a public-facing representative of The Hand. That latter theory is interesting: The Netflix Defenders universe already established that The Hand has an international web of power players working for its benefit, and five “fingers” that make up its leadership (like Sigourney Weaver’s Alexandra). Rumors about Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 say the show could pick up where The Defenders miniseries left off, with The Hand once again striking at NYC. Could Mr. Charles be paving the way?

Then again, the MCU and the Marvel Netflix franchises have brought in popular actors to truly do bit roles or play straightforward characters who are exactly what they look like on paper. But with Matthew Lillard already set to defy 30 years of (character) death with his return in Scream 7, it would be a shame not to get some wild character twist from him in Daredevil: Born Again.

The second season premieres on Disney+ starting on March 24th. Ghost Face Vodka is now available in stores. Have theories on Lillard’s character? Dish with us over at the ComicBook Forum!