Summary
- Gandolfini plays Kingpin's protege, not a young Wilson Fisk, adding to the mystery of his character.
- Speculation suggests Gandolfini may portray Kingpin's illegitimate son, but details remain undisclosed.
- Scardapane's denial of Gandolfini as young Wilson Fisk leaves fans eager to unveil the true nature of his role.
Daredevil: Born Again cast member Michael Gandolfini plays an unknown character, which has prompted a few theories. Now, showrunner Dario Scardapane has shed light on Gandolfini's role while leaving some mystery.
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During an interview with SFX Magazine (via ComicBookMovie), Scardapane confirmed that Michael Gandolfini is not playing a young Wilson Fisk as some speculated. Instead, Scardapen revealed, Michael Gandolfini plays Kingpin's "protégé who is pulled into a world he barely understands." However, Scardapane did not reveal the name of Michael Gandolfini's character. So, it's unclear if the Daniel Blade reports are accurate, if he's playing a different role, and/or if he portrays characters from the comics.
Assuming Michael Gandolfini is playing a character named Daniel Blade who is a protege to Kingin, this does leave the door open for a different rumor to be true. Some fans speculate that Michael Gandolfini is playing Richard Fisk, the son of Wilson and Vanessa Fisk in the comics. Considering Wilson Fisk and Vanessa's relationship was relatively young in the Netflix series and there is only a five-year time jump from that show to Daredevil: Born Again, Michael Gandolfini is likely too old to be their child. However, he could be Kingpin's illegitimate son from a past relationship, which might explain why he chose to take the young man under his wing.
Of course, this is all purely speculative. It's possible that the reports on Michael Gandolfini playing Daniel Blade are true and not the red herring fans suspect. Fans have just over a month to find out, and the anticipation is building. While Scardapane's recent criticism about the Netflix series has some fans concerned that Daredevil: Born Again doesn't understand what viewers loved about the original show, most are just excited to finally see Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and more reprise their roles. Whether Daredevil: Born Again can live up to expectations remains to be seen, but the talented cast alone is reason to be optimistic.
Daredevil: Born Again premieres on March 4, 2025, on Disney Plus.
After Charlie Cox's cameo appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home and supporting role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Daredevil: Born Again gives Matt Murdock his first show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil: Born Again continues the story that started in Netflix's three-season Daredevil series and sees Wilson Fisk ascend to mayor of New York City.
- Cast
- Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki M. James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Ayelet Zurer, Wilson Bethel, Patrick Murney, Cillian O'Sullivan, Gino Anthony Pesi, Ruibo Qian, Victor Verhaeghe, Susan Varon, Becky London, Jeffrey Grover, Pat Kiernan, Jannette Anton, Anthony Aquilino, ML Josepher, Midori Nakamura, Kamar de los Reyes
- Showrunner
- Chris Ord
- Directors
- Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
- Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree
- Franchise(s)
- Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Main Genre
- Adventure
- Seasons
- 2
- Story By
- chris ord
- Number of Episodes
- 9
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
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Source: SFX Magazine