This is Rumor Control. Here are the facts. The highly anticipated third season of Marvel and Netflix’s Daredevil is currently shooting under new showrunner Erik Oleson (Arrow, Unforgettable), and while there hasn’t been 100% confirmation as to the exact storyline, there have been bits and pieces making their way online over the past year or so. One of those was a casting breakdown leaked by That Hashtag Show last August for a series regular role purported to be the main antagonist. The character was codenamed “Steve” and was described as:
An athletic but socially awkward FBI Agent, needs structure and rules to suppress the darkness inside himself. Athletic with medium build, responsible and resourceful, hair trigger temper.
While events from The Defenders and subsequent cast interviews indicate that Season 3 will be adapting Frank Miller’s Born Again comic book arc, speculation about the main villain character initially had him as Stanley Carter/Sin-Eater, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. super soldier test subject-turned NYPD detective who—disillusioned following the death of his partner—became obsessed with killing anyone who “sinned” by abusing authority. Last November, Wilson Bethel (Hart of Dixie, The Young and the Restless) was cast in the role, but the specifics of the character were withheld at the time.
Now, a new report Wednesday by That Hashtag Show has exclusively revealed that Bethel will actually be portraying the character Bullseye, one of Daredevil’s deadliest and most popular foes! This brings a long-held desire by fans and the cast to see the character join the fray to fruition. Back in 2016, star Charlie Cox said in an interview with Screen Rant:
“If we are fortunate enough to continue making the Daredevil series, I can’t imagine doing a run of Daredevil where Bullseye doesn’t show up at some point. It would be great to have him around at some point. Who would play that part I have no idea but I just think there’s such an interesting, rich character there, and also of course, the history that Bullseye has with Karen Page is an interesting dynamic. When you read the comics it’s etched in a Daredevil memory all that stuff.”
In the comic books, Bullseye (known as “Lester” or “Benjamin Poindexter”) was the son of an abusive National Security Agency official known as “Kingmaker” (whom he allegedly attempted to kill in a house fire). At some point, he developed the unique ability to throw virtually any object as a projectile with incredible accuracy with enough force to be lethal. He is also an expert martial artist, extremely talented in the use of edged/throwing weapons and conventional firearms; and possesses exceptional physical conditioning, with the agility, reflexes, stamina, and speed of a professional athlete. He was inevitably recruited as a government assassin due to his skills. During an operation in which he collaborated with Contras to seize an airfield belonging to Colombian cocaine smugglers, Bullseye planned to broker a supposed deal to sell it to the Mafia, Russian Mafia, Yakuza, and various other criminal elements while in actuality he planned to steal all of their money and escape. However, this plan hit a snag with the intervention of The Punisher, who killed all the crime bosses and delayed Bullseye long enough to be apprehended by the DEA, who sought to also exploit his abilities by having him infiltrate the Kingpin’s organization. He later obtained a costume, escaped his handlers and went on to become one of the deadliest most notorious hitmen in the world.
He later briefly served as Kingpin’s chief assassin, which brought him into conflict with Daredevil, whom he defeated in their first two fights. After Daredevil manages to defeat him, Kingpin fires Bullseye from the position, which he would spend the next several years attempting to regain, as well as fostering his grudge against the vigilante. After learning that Kingpin had hired Daredevil’s former lover Elektra as his new chief assassin, Bullseye attempted to usurp his old position by facing her in combat and impaling her on her own sai, killing her. Upon being told by Kingpin that he’s need to kill Daredevil in order to win back his spot, the two fought resulting in Bullseye suffering a multi-story fall that breaks his back, paralyzing him. He is later taken to Japan where his bones are laced with strips of adamantium, restoring his mobility and increasing his resistance to injury in unarmed combat while also allowing him to utilize acrobatic maneuvers impossible for an ordinary human. He’s gone on to serve as a member of the pro-Registration Thunderbolts during the superhero Civil War and the Skrull Secret Invasion as well as part of the Dark Avengers (taking on Hawkeye’s codename) under Norman Osborne’s Dark Reign. Around this time, he also managed to finally confront his father again, this time successfully killing him.
During the Shadowland event, he was confronted by Daredevil, now leader of The Hand ninja clan and possessed by their demonic ruler known as “The Beast of the Hand.” In the ensuing fight, Daredevil impaled him through the heart on his own sai in revenge for his previous attack on Elektra, making him an invalid relying on a metal lung to survive.
The character has appeared previously in live-action once, in 2003’s Daredevil film portrayed by Colin Farrell. This iteration was given an Irish background, and eschewed his traditional costume in favor of a biker/metalhead-style reptile-skin trench coat, leather pants, black tank top, dark goatee, tattoos, multiple earrings, and a shaved head with a bull’s-eye branding on his forehead. He uses shurikens carried in his belt buckle as his main weapons, along with many other small objects, including peanuts, paperclips, playing cards, shards of broken glass, and a pencil. He is hired by the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) to kill Nikolas Natchios, doing so with Daredevil’s billy club, which causes Elektra (Jennifer Garner) to believe the vigilante was her father’s killer. Later, Elektra attacks Daredevil (Ben Affleck) seeking revenge, but quickly realizes Bullseye is her true intended target. Elektra and Bullseye fight, and he brutally kills her in a scene taken straight from the comic. Daredevil chases Bullseye into a church, where they continue their fight until Daredevil throws him out of a window, crashing onto the hood of a car. He is apprehended and later hospitalized, still able to flick a hypodermic needle with enough force and accuracy to impale a fly without killing it.
While it’s expected that if Bethel is in fact playing Bullseye, there will be some changes made to his background and motivations, like most of the heroes and villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it’s also expected that the core of his character will remain, making for a worthy new adversary for the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.
Source: That Hashtag Show
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