There’s a mysterious new character that fans are wondering about their true identity
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The latest season of hit Marvel sequel series Daredevil Born Again has introduced a mysterious new villain.
While the show debuted last year, it quickly became a hit with fans and critics alike and succeeded in picking up where the Netflix version of the comic book character left off. It also meant that the character was now officially a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Its first season managed to score an impressive 87% on website Rotten Tomatoes and the premiere episode of the second season is streaming now on Disney+.
As episodes are released on a weekly basis, fans will see Mayor Wilson Fisk crush New York City underfoot as he hunts down public enemy number one, the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante known as Daredevil. But, beneath the horned mask, Matt Murdock will try to fight back from the shadows to tear down the Kingpin’s corrupt empire and redeem his home. Resist. Rebel. Rebuild.
The show sees most of the original cast return including Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio reprising their roles as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk respectively. Also returning are Wilson Bethel as Bullseye and Deborah Ann Woll as Karen.
One newcomer to the show though has already made an impact just one episode in. That is the currently mysterious Mr Charles, played by Matthew Lillard. Lillard is famed for his previous roles in the Scream franchise as well as Five Nights At Freddy’s, the Scooby Doo live-action films and Prime Video series Cross.
But who is his character Mr Charles? Is he in the original Marvel comics? Here’s all you need to know. Beware some mild spoilers for Daredevil Born Again season 2, episode 1.
Who is Mr Charles?
In the show, we meet Mr Charles as he watches developments in New York on the TV from Washington. Daredevil has just sunk the North Star ship which was secretly smuggling weapons for Wilson Fisk and his associates. Turns out, Mr Charles is a middle man for these associates.
As a result, he gets a phone call and agrees he needs to address the matter personally. He arrives at Fisk’s office on his own terms, seemingly one of the very few people unafraid of the Kingpin. In a reference that may have missed the average viewer, the name Miss de Fontaine is mentioned and confirmed to be Mr Charles’ boss.
This means he works for Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier , Black Widow , Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , and Thunderbolts. So this Mr Charles works for the CIA but is assisting de Fontaine with illicit operations.
However, some fans believe that this name could be a cover for who the character really is. According to Screen Rant there is a character called Mr Charles in Marvel lore but he only appeared in one issue, outside any main storyline or continuity. The issue was published in 2013 and he was a Roxxon Corporation employee who was in charge if illegal oil drillings in the ocean.
Fans will just have to wait as the series continues to see who Mr Charles really is and what he is truly up to. There is always the chance that he is an original character created for the show.
He wanted to get back into the “Scream” franchise. Of course his character, Stu Macher, could survive a television being dropped on his head (though it’s said that he was electrocuted). Lillard even thought about dropping an actual TV on his head to prove that it was possible. Luckily, he didn’t go through with it, becausea lot of TV figuratively dropped on his head anyway.
The “Scooby-Doo” actor has been cast in several high-profile projects. He’s on “Cross,” the Amazon Prime show starring Aldis Hodge as a homicide detective and forensic psychologist. He will be in the eight-episode “Carrie” miniseries — yes, that Carrie — developed by filmmaker Mike Flanagan for Amazon MGM Studios. He’s dipping his toes in the Marvel cinematic pond with a role in Netflix’s “Daredevil: Born Again.”
On the big screen, he’s prepping for a third “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
All of this from an actor whom Quentin Tarantino (speaking on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast”) “doesn’t care for.” Lillard has answered questions about and commented on Tarantino’s viral comments often in the last few months. An actor for almost four decades, Lillard says he has built up a thick skin, but the comments were hurtful.
He talks about those comments, along with his recent projects, working with friends and his constant desire to say “F— ICE.”
So. Tarantino said some things about your (and Paul Dano’s) acting prowess …
Look, candidly, it was a weird moment. It was a bummer. It was a drag at the beginning. But I’ll say this — I have never felt so seen by this industry. My entire career, I felt like a blue-collar working-class actor trying to be in the best movies and do the best work I possibly can. In that moment, along comes an industry that I’ve served now for 35 years, rising up and saying really lovely things. I said, in the past, it felt like I was living through my own wake. You don’t normally see that outpouring of love until after somebody passes. At the end of the day, it ends up being a really beautiful moment for me.
It’s not like I’m this fragile little thing. I’ve been around a long time. Did it suck? Sure.
This Quentin Tarantino thing … I’m good. I love his films. It also sucked because I was like, “Oh, I would love to get in there and kick ass for him.” But whatever. It is not about the box office wins that week. It’s about a body of work, a community of friends, and longevity that really defines. Which is the goal, and it defines a life well spent.
You mentioned longevity, and a quick IMDb search shows that Shaggy is your world! There’s so much “Scooby–Doo.” Straight-to-video. Live-action. Video games.
Yeah. Isn’t that crazy?
Looking back, how did you approach doing the voice work and being in the movies, and what was your thought process when that first came to you?
My first thought process was, “I’m getting that job.” I’m like, “I will kill that.” The way I got into the voice was that I would have to scream myself hoarse. I’ll never forget coming down and being in the car, an empty Warner Bros. lot, screaming to prepare my voice for the audition, and having Chuck Roven, the producer, walk by and knock on the window and be like, “Dude, are you OK?”
The first movie was so successful that I felt like I was launched. James Gunn and I went in and pitched “Plastic Man” at Warner Bros. I felt like, “Oh, I’m now an option to be No. 1 on a call sheet.” Then “Scooby-Doo 2” came out, didn’t do great, and started a reset of my career that took a couple of years.
I look back now at 56 years old and think, without that, I wouldn’t be in this career. I don’t know if I would have been around long enough to get this comeback that I’m in the middle of and enjoying.
“Scream 7” revisits one of the most successful horror franchises ever. How did you feel about being approached to come back? Can you say much about your role?
Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”
(Brownie Harris / Paramount Pictures / Spyglass Media Group)
I’m not going to lie, I was over the moon. At some point, right before I got the offer, probably three or four months before I got the offer, [“Scream” franchise creator] Kevin Williamson put it out in the world that the “Scream” franchise does not need Matthew Lillard. I remember reading that and thinking to myself, “Why don’t you just leave me alone? I’m planning on getting back in.”
[Film producers] Radio Silence had set up in [the fifth and sixth films] the potential or the whisperings that Stu was still alive. So I was like, “We’re trending in the right direction here. Why is Kevin Williamson kicking me in the teeth?” And the funny thing is, he called me in the middle of the afternoon and he’s like, “Are you interested in coming back?” I was super excited. And … there’s not a lot I can say about the movie, for obvious reasons. But I think that people are going to be really excited.
You’re continuing in the horror field with “Carrie.” No release date yet, but what can you say about it?
I had a small scene [in “Life of Chuck”], but the scene’s great and the movie’s beautiful. I saw Kevin Williamson at [“Life of Chuck” and “Carrie” producer] Mike Flanagan’s house because we were playing a game of “Mafia.” I was doing “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and I was sitting talking to Mike and he was talking about doing “Carrie” and everything he’s got coming up. After he and I did “Life of Chuck,” he’s like, “Well, congratulations. You’re now in the Flanafam.” He works a lot with the same actors.
I finally got up the courage to say, “Hey, listen, what is that? I mean, if I’m in the Flanafam, what does that mean? How does that work? Am I supposed to tell you my schedule?” He’s like, “Oh, no, no, no. I have a part for you in ‘Carrie.’ I want you to come and do ‘Carrie’ if you’re interested.”
Everyone knows the story. Carrie, pig blood, all that. But that De Palma version only uses certain specific aspects of the book. The thing I’m excited about is that Mike Flanagan pulls in elements of the book that are not necessarily in the first film, and then adds headlines ripped from today’s day and age in terms of bullying and things we’re seeing in social media and all of that. So he’s giving it a new lens to look at what bullying looks like for kids today. I saw the first three episodes — the entire cast gathered at a screening room — and it blew me away.
Summer Howell plays Carrie, and she’s incredible, and Sam Sloyan plays her mother. There’s three basic parties. There’s the kids, there’s the parents, and then there’s the faculty. I play the principal at the school, watching the entire thing fall apart around them.
You’re also dipping your toes in the world of Marvel with “Daredevil: Born Again.”
I can talk about “Daredevil” a little. I played Dungeon & Dragons with three incredible showrunners. Dario Scardapane, who runs “Daredevil,” Matt Nix, who’s doing the new “Baywatch,” and then Elwood Reid, who does “Tracker.” I’m their dungeon master. We play with Abraham Benrubi, this beautiful actor (“ER,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), a dear friend of mine. … Dario brought me in to play Mr. Charles [on “Daredevil: Born Again”], who’s like a CIA spook. He’s a guy that controls power from afar. He helps nations rise and fall, but he’s very clandestine. He is not impressed by the powers of [Vincent] D’Onofrio’s character [Kingpin] at all. He and I get into this really delicious struggle over power. It’s good. It’s fun.
Matthew Lillard taps “Scream” vibes with Ghost Face Vodka, whose release will coincide with the seventh installment of the film franchise.
(Andreas Branch)
You’ve combined storytellingwith alcohol for your lines of whiskey, vodkas and the like. How did you decide to mix the two?
I started a Dungeons & Dragons company six years ago now called Beadle & Grimm’s. Somebody approached me about building a spirits company around Dungeons & Dragons.For me, what I heard in that was like, “Hey, build a luxury item for niche communities that people don’t always respect and know and understand.” My experience with Beadle & Grimm’s was very clear. They will come out and support it.
So we created Quest’s End Whiskey. Quest’s End is a 16-bottle drop over four years. Each bottle is a different character class, but each bottle delivers a new chapter of an ongoing saga. We sold out in the first two weeks. In a week, we had 25,000 people on the waiting list to purchase that first bottle.
I know the impact that “Scream” [has] had on the horror community. I realized that if we could license the [intellectual property] of [film villain] Ghostface that we could make something super badass that fans would go crazy for. It took us a while to secure those rights. But once we did, we built Ghost Face Vodka.Our hope was to sell 2,000 units of a collector’s edition. We had 40,000 people sign up for early access in the first 72 hours.
Ghost Face Vodka has a game on the back, a QR code. When you sit down, all your people can hit that QR code with their smartphones and load an automated game of “Mafia.” It’s a communal game. It’s like two or three of you are Mafia members, and you have to figure out who that is. And it’s super fun. Again, trying to build community. Our hope is that, launching around “Scream 7,” it’s going to catch the zeitgeist and blow up.
Lastly, we have “Cross,” your most current TV project.
Matthew Lillard in “Cross.”
(Ian Watson / Amazon MGM Studios Prime Video)
I’m in love with that creative team and Aldis Hodge and everything he represents. I don’t think people understand that that show did 40 million views in the first 20 days for Amazon. It is unapologetically a Black show that … it feels like it’s being ripped from the headlines. I think Aldis Hodge and the creative team do an incredible job representing a man who is a Black man as a detective in this world. The relationships, the friendships, the bonds he has with his community — just being around that creative team has been really inspiring, and [show creator] Ben Watkins is an incredible storyteller.
I think the thing about “Cross” is that it really challenges you, especially given what we’re living through in this moment. I have to say it — politically speaking, we’re in a s— storm. I went viral a month ago about saying, ‘F— ICE.’ But … f— ICE.
Could you describe your character?
Another dubious character. He’s a billionaire named Lance Durand, and he’s out to solve world hunger. Sometimes, a billionaire has very questionable scruples as to the best ways to go about things. Solve world hunger, kill all the people. That’s how you do it.
The whole series opens up with a bunch of middle-aged white men on an island doing horrible things to girls. So when I say “ripped from the freaking headlines” … It’s, like, crazy.
