Fans hoping to see Kingpin killed off in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 just got a pointed reply from Vincent D'Onofrio himself. His comment comes as filming for the show's third season has wrapped, with production kicking off back in March. That keeps Born Again on track for three consecutive seasons in three consecutive years on Disney+, a feat now MCU series has done on the streamer.
D'Onofrio has played Fisk since Daredevil's first season back in 2015, and he's confirmed to return once again in Season 3, despite no longer holding the title of New York City mayor.
When one Marvel fan replied to the actor, who was celebrating the production being wrapped on X, they wrote, "I hope you are dead this time," and D'Onofrio didn't let it slide; he simply replied: "Thanks."
No follow-up, no defense of the character, just two words that leave plenty of room for interpretation, but it does read as giving a sarcastic tone.
Whatever D'Onofrio meant by it, Fisk's Season 3 return is real, and whether he dies or not won't be revealed until next spring, most likely. Though it does seem like, as long as Charlie Cox is acting as Matt Murdock, D'Onofrio will be there as Fisk.
The actor recently told Reel Rejects that the team, while in production, had a "new challenge" ahead of them, and teased "a lot of action in" Season 3:
"We have a whole new challenge ahead of us, and we're working our butts off right now, like really intense...There's going to be a lot of action in the third season and emotional journeys as well."
Later in the show, 67-year-old Marvel star told them that they're trying to make Season 3 stand out, but at the end of the day it's still "Daredevil-esque:"
"We are well into it, and we are trying our hardest to make it different than the other two. But at the same, it's super 'Daredevil'-esque."
Set photos from the past few months around New York City back that up. Images from back in April show D'Onofrio's Fisk with a strikingly different look: a long winter coat, a beanie, and a full white beard, the first facial hair he's worn as the character in his 11-year MCU tenure. A far cry from the tailored suits of his mayoral run, and it lines up with the character's ending in isolation to close Season 2.
By the Season 2 finale, Fisk lost his office, his wife Vanessa (killed by Bullseye), and any real loyalty among his old allies.
The freshest read on what's next comes from set photos taken this July, noticeably later in the shoot than the bearded, incognito look caught back in April, and they suggest the character's classic, well-groomed appearance will work its way back in Season 3.
Much of the on-set images centers on Elodie Yung's returning Elektra and Charlie Cox's new Daredevil suit, but a potentially more telling detail is actor Jack Mulhern, spotted on location.
It was previously rumored that Mulhern would be playing a minor character named Philip, but the set photo showing him in Fisk-caliber tailoring suggests otherwise.
Since Fisk lost nearly all his loyalists and his Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF) members are in prison by the Season 2 finale, it's unlikely Mulhern is playing one of his old lackeys.
That leaves the more likely theory: he's portraying one of Kingpin's comic-book sons, either Richard (aka The Rose) or the more recently introduced Byron "Butch" Fisk, both of whom eventually turn on their father. It's frightening to think what a true Fisk legacy could mean for Matt and his group of super-friends.
Born Again Season 3 Crossover Explained
Season 2 ended with Matt Murdock's double life catching up to him for good: after outing himself as Daredevil during Karen Page's trial and helping take down Fisk and the AVTF, Matt was convicted and accepted arrest without a fight.
Season 3 is expected to pick up with him behind bars, leaning hard into a story about isolation. Drawing from the comics arc "The Devil in Cell Block D," it strips Matt of his suit and support system as he navigates a prison population led by his old AVTF enemies.
Season 3 will also reportedly bring Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, Mike Colter's Luke Cage, and Finn Jones' Iron Fist together on-screen for the first time in nearly a decade.
Fisk also isn't the only threat waiting, either; in fact, he's not expected to be this season's main antagonist. Season 3 will officially combine two comic book villain concepts into one: Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), Matt's former love interest, spent Season 2 working for Fisk and haunted by Muse, and the finale revealed her donning his mask herself, setting up a major Lady Muse storyline.
Wilson Bethel's Bullseye ends the season working for the mysterious Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard) in a new tactical suit.
While Elektra has resurfaced alive after seemingly dying in The Defenders, now wearing a red-and-black costume that's fueled speculation she could pick up Daredevil's mantle while Matt's locked away.
Between Fisk seemingly rebuilding from the outside, Bullseye and Mr. Charles running their own operation, and four Defenders converging, Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 looks like Marvel Television's biggest crossover in years.
