Matthew Lillard Deserves Praise for Daredevil Born Again Season 3 Performance

Fans clamored for Daredevil to return when the original Netflix series was canceled in 2018. Marvel eventually greenlit Daredevil: Born Again as an all-new continuity with some of the same cast. Production crews later reworked the show late in season 1 to connect with the Netflix version, making all the Marvel and Netflix shows canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The revival debuted in March 2025, and the second season followed a year later. Positive responses followed, even with a perplexing season 2 finale, and Charlie Cox mentioned that he would be happy to play Daredevil into old age.

Marvel adjusted its television strategy, causing Daredevil: Born Again to be canceled so that it will end after season 3. Many characters may never appear again after next season. Cox’s Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin will likely land somewhere else, but supporting characters face an uncertain future. Matthew Lillard’s Mr. Charles stands out as the most intriguing surviving character on the show.

Meet Mr. Charles

The season 2 premiere of Daredevil: Born Again introduces Mr. Charles in a DC bar watching a news report about The Morning Star. This cargo ship brought weapons into the Red Hook free port in Brooklyn before sinking in the East River. After receiving a call from an unseen person, Mr. Charles destroys his phone. He next appears in the mayor’s office during a tense conversation between Mayor Fisk and state officials. Mr. Charles strolls in while loudly chewing street vendor food and talking about its quality, leaving state officials confused about his identity. Fisk loathes his presence yet assures the officials that Mr. Charles belongs in the meeting. A subsequent meeting with Fisk and his wife Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) discusses salvaging the weapons aboard The Morning Star, revealing an arrangement between Fisk and the bosses of Mr. Charles to smuggle weapons through the free port.

Mr. Charles pops up sporadically throughout the rest of the season and is revealed as a CIA agent in league with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis Dreyfus. When a special ops team raids the home of Jessica Jones, she confronts Mr. Charles. This encounter reveals that he provides her sole access to Luke Cage, who performs shady overseas operations for the CIA. The best scenes for Mr. Charles involve Fisk because he is one of the rare individuals capable of pressuring Fisk.

The scenes featuring Fisk and Mr. Charles highlight a clash in style over power dynamics. D’Onofrio plays Fisk as a tense, impeccably dressed, and relentlessly formal man in command of every pause before he erupts. Matthew Lillard commands similar power through a casual demeanor that allows him to curse freely and put his feet up on the coffee table in the mayor’s office. Fisk intimidates everyone except Mr. Charles, which increases Fisk’s pent-up rage. This dynamic introduced much-needed humor to Daredevil: Born Again following the controversial decision to kill Foggy Nelson, played by Elden Henson, at the start of the first season. Lillard brings boundless energy to the screen.

The end of the season reveals that Mr. Charles recruited Bullseye, played by Wilson Bethel, for special CIA operations. Season 3 might explore that thread depending on the available time, as the plot already features Daredevil in prison alongside some sort of reunion with the Defenders. A future Avengers movie could include Mr. Charles since he works for Val, or he might appear in a to-be-announced Daredevil movie. A standalone movie would provide an ideal setting for a reunion with Wilson Fisk to continue their antagonistic dynamic.

Source: Polygon