Daredevil season three promises to be darker than ever.
Daredevil season three promises to be darker than ever.
There's one word everyone is studiously avoiding on the set of Marvel's Daredevil. It begins with an R.
It's a word commonly used in the world of Marvel comics – but officially it does not apply to Daredevil, which returns to Netflix for a third season tomorrow.
So for the record, officially, the third season is definitely not a reboot. Even though, you'll soon read, it kind of does sound like one.
For a start, season three has a new showrunner. That's the person who controls the show and its entire creative direction. This season has seen Erik Oleson take over, bringing a distinct new style and tone to the series.
In his words: "Season three is somewhere between season one of Daredevil and The Sopranos. That's the sweet spot for me. There are elements of conspiracy thriller sprinkled in. I'm not blind to what's going on in the world around all of us and that's the background. A taut, character-driven, deep point-of-view thriller."
There's no mention of season two – which several fans declared a stinker – or the fact Oleson seems to have been brought in to save the franchise.
Season three picks up where spin-off series The Defenders left off, with Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil) left for dead under a collapsed building.
Season three will introduce a new character, Sister Maggie.
"He is not in good shape. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. He's questioning his faith, he's questioning a lot of things. He's in a dark place," explains Oleson over Skype from LA, where he and the other writers are based.
"He is keeping a secret from the world – that he survived Defenders - including his friends. As we find Matt at the beginning of the season, in this dark and disturbed place, where physically he is not capable of being Daredevil, given the injuries he's sustained."
So season three will definitely introduce a new tone for the series. It will also have some new characters, including Sister Maggie, a nun who helps nurse Murdock and has strong ties to his past. There are also two new FBI agents, who will help develop the thriller element Oleson describes.
"What I'm interested in doing with the show is exploring the overall theme of fear," he explains.
"Every one of us is afraid of something. Unless we confront those fears, they have a way of enslaving us. It decides the way that we behave and act and vote. Unless we are willing to face the things that we fear, we tend to trap ourselves. Freedom only exists when you conquer your fear."
It's a theme lead actor Charlie Cox was keen to explore – but only once he knew he was in safe hands.
"I was very anxious to read the first few scripts because I wanted to know that [Oleson] had Matt's voice. That he and the new writers had a real sense of the Matt that I understood.
"We had very long, two, three-hour conversation at the beginning of the season, where I was trying to pin him down about what has happened to Matt up until now, how has that impacted who he is as a person, his attitude towards himself and his attitude towards God. His attitude towards the other people in his life. How was that impacted him? That then informs how I go out and play these scenes."
Charlie Cox believes Daredevil's success lies in its appeal to more mature comic book fans.
By the time he speaks to us, a visiting mob of journalists, the relationship is well established and Cox has nothing but glowing praise for his new boss.
We're on set in Brooklyn, New York, where all of Marvel's Netflix series are filmed. The production crew's office regularly stands in as a police station or lawyer's office in the various series, including Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.
It's March but there's still snow on the ground in New York City and the crew are more than halfway through the season. The challenge is to wrap production while the night's are still long enough to film.
Cox is careful not to reveal too much about the upcoming season – but there's also a limit to how much he knows. Unlike some of his fellow cast, Cox chooses not to receive his scripts in advance.
"Some of the other actors like to know and have a conversation at the beginning of the season about any major arcs, anything that's going to happen. I request to know only flashbacks. I don't like knowing anything that's going to happen – I like to know what has happened."
What he will say is that this season will appeal to more mature comic book fans, who appreciate the show's darker tone.
"I think it's one of the reasons the Daredevil movie didn't work as well as it could have done because you can't make a PG Daredevil. Not well. It has to be darker. It has to be more cynical."
Oleson drops a morsel of his own.
"There are action sequences this season that are going to blow the audience out of the water. But I didn't want action for action's sake. There have to be real stakes. There will be fights this season that Matt is not going to win."
