Beloved horror icon Matthew Lillard joined Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 in an undisclosed role earlier this year, leaving fans to wonder exactly how he would fit into the MCU and whether, ultimately, he would be putting out fires or fanning the flames as a hero or villain of Hell’s Kitchen. Marvel TV boss Brad Winderbaum has now revealed the first details about the Scream legend’s mystery character — and, by the sounds of it, he will be giving Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Wilson Fisk a run for his money in the political arena as “a bit of a new antagonist on the field,” who will be working in direct opposition to the corrupt “Kingpin” of New York City.
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly at New York Comic Con 2025 (NYCC), Winderbaum confirmed that Lillard will be playing a character named “Mr. Charles.” He hinted that he would be a new type of “power player” for Fisk to contend with, especially now that he has become the legally elected mayor of New York City. One of his first acts as a high-ranking official was to impose martial law and create an “anti-vigilante task force” to enforce his “safer streets” initiative, designed to eliminate self-appointed crime fighters. However, as Winderbaum points out, Lillard’s character will pose a new challenge for Fisk and may interfere with his plans:
“He plays a character named Mr. Charles. The story is about power. When Wilson Fisk takes over New York, not just as a mayor but as a king in a way, it puts him in a new class of power players on the international stage. Matthew Lillard’s character represents that. So, he’s a bit of a new antagonist on the field, but he’s as influential in many ways as Fisk is. That power negotiation at a very high level of politics and international diplomacy is also fun to watch. He is dealing with Mr. Charles up here and Daredevil down here for different reasons. So, he’s getting squeezed a little bit.”
Matthew Lillard Has Mastered the Art of Playing the Villain
Lillard’s acting career spans a wide range of roles, but his villainous turns are arguably among his most notable. He established himself as an antagonist early on, with his breakthrough role as the unhinged Ghostface killer Stu Macher in Scream, which cemented his place in the horror history books. He is set to reprise the character in the upcoming Scream 7, which is due to hit theaters in February 2026, 30 years after the original 1996 film. Lillard has expressed a mixture of excitement and trepidation about returning to the legacy role, even though he has much more experience under his belt now than he did back then.
The actor’s villainous roles have certainly evolved over the years, but he gained renewed recognition in the field when he portrayed the manipulative William Afton in Five Nights at Freddy’s. He is set to reprise the role in the upcoming sequel, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which is scheduled for release this December. He has also signed on to appear as a new villain named Lance in the second season of the Prime Video crime thriller series Cross. His character is expected to pose a significant threat to the show’s central protagonist, Detective Alex Cross, so it seems that it won’t just be Fisk facing off against Lillard on the small screen.
The second season of Daredevil: Born Again is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in March 2026 as part of Phase 6 of the MCU. The next batch of episodes will pick up where the last season left off, with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock assembling an army of superpowered allies. It is expected to incorporate more elements from the original Netflix series, including continuing some story arcs and bringing back several fan-favorite characters. Lillard isn’t the only newcomer in the cast, though, as Lili Taylor is also onboard. She is rumored to be playing a political rival to Fisk, which could see her moving in the same circles as Mr. Charles.
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Network
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Disney+
- Directors
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Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree
- Franchise(s)
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Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe
