Marvel’s man without fear will be back for more gritty adventures when season 3 of Daredevil premieres October 19 on Netflix. The latest update on the third season puts the spotlight on the return of Wilson Fisk, actor Vincent D’Onofrio’s popular crime-lord character.

Based on Marvel Comics’ blind vigilante of the same name, Daredevil follows Murdock, an attorney, as he fights crime in the courtrooms of New York City by day and uses his superhuman senses and martial arts training to protect the city at night. The series premiered in April 2015 and stars Charlie Cox (Stardust) as the title character, with a supporting cast that includes True Blood actress Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page and The Mighty Ducks actor Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson.

Digital Trends got an early look at the first half of Daredevil season 3, so make sure to read our spoiler-free preview of the season and review of the first six episodes, then read on for more details about the hit show’s return.

The Kingpin’s return

One of the first casting announcements for the third season of Daredevil confirmed the return of D’Onofrio as series villain Wilson Fisk, a character better known to Marvel Comics fans as “The Kingpin.” Just a few days before the season premiere, Netflix released a video (see above) profiling Fisk’s return to the series.

After serving as the primary villain in the show’s first season, Fisk played a supporting role in the second season of the series, pulling strings from behind bars and playing a key role in a story arc that primarily focused on the lethal vigilante Frank Castle (aka The Punisher), as played by Jon Bernthal. D’Onofrio’s performance in the first season of Daredevil received praise from professional critics and general audiences alike, and was widely regarded as one of the high points in the show’s critically acclaimed debut season.

A new villain takes aim

Netflix has confirmed the identity of a popular villain who will be making his debut in the third season of Daredevil. The announcement was made in a video released October 6 titled “Meet Agent Poindexter.”

Although he isn’t identified by his most familiar name in the video, the character played by Wilson Bethel is shown hurling various objects with deadly accuracy. The villain’s signature, uncanny ability — and the symbol that appears in the video — should be familiar to fans of Matt Murdock’s adventures both in comic books and on the big screen, making his identity fairly easy to deduce.

The character was first introduced in a trailer (see below) that premiered October 4 and offered more fresh footage from season 3 and concluded with Bethel’s character facing off with Daredevil himself (while wearing Daredevil’s suit, no less).

The devil’s debut date

Netflix announced the premiere date for season 3 via an ominous teaser featuring a bloodied Matt Murdock and a montage of fight scenes.

After Matt suggests that the only way to end evil is to “let the devil out,” the premiere date of October 19 was revealed.

A Daredevil-less promo

After the events of the Defenders left our fearless hero … somewhat indisposed, it’s not all that surprising that Netflix would keep the mystery surrounding Matt Murdock’s current whereabouts going in season 3’s first promo. Revealed in an official tweet from Marvel, our first real look at season 3 is essentially just a Missing Person’s poster. Perhaps the coolest part is the response to the tweet from the official pages of Jessica Jones (“Who would do this?”), Luke Cage (“What’s wrong with keeping hope alive?”), and Iron Fist (“Yeah, the city needs more guys like him.”).

It didn’t take long, however, (just one day) to find out that Murdock/Daredevil is apparently alive and well via a new teaser tacked on to the beginning of Iron Fist season 2’s premiere on September 7.

Although, considering the absolutely sinister tone of voice, and quotes like “I’d rather die as the devil than live as Matt Murdock,” the word “well” may not be appropriate here. Whatever happens, get ready for some serious goth-angst from our sight-deprived savior when season 3 premieres.

FBI en route

In March, Marvel announced the addition of actor Jay Ali to the third-season cast of Daredevil. Ali previously appeared on the television series The Fosters and Significant Mother.

According to Marvel, Ali will portray Rahul “Ray” Nadeem, “an honest but ambitious FBI agent willing to go to any length for his family.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Jay into our stellar cast,” Marvel’s Head of Television Jeph Loeb said in a statement. “His storyline and riveting performance will captivate our fans in the third season of Marvel’s Daredevil.”

A high-flying image

We still have some time until season 3 of Daredevil premieres on Netflix, but veteran Marvel Comics artist and Marvel Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada whet fans’ appetites in early March with an image he created to promote the season.

Quesada revealed the image on his Twitter account.

The art features Daredevil leaping from a building designed to look like the Roman numeral for “three,” with the character’s familiar, double-“D” symbol prominently displayed on top of the building. The logos for Marvel and Netflix appear on street signs at ground level.

Villainous rumors

Hart of Dixie actor Wilson Bethel was added to the cast of the series in November 2017, with Variety describing his mysterious role as “an FBI agent who will play a critical role in the conflict between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, better known as Daredevil and Kingpin respectively.”

This description naturally led to some speculation about the character Bethel will play in the season, and much of that speculation drew from a casting call for a new character in the third season named “Steve” that found its way online a few months earlier. The casting call describes the character — who will be a series regular in the third season — 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.”

Fans have suggested that the two descriptions correlate to a live-action version of the Marvel Comics villain Stanley Carter, better known as “Sin-Eater.” In Marvel’s comics continuity, Stanley Carter was an NYPD officer and former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was exposed to an experimental drug that drove him insane and prompted him to engage in a crusade to punish — often lethally — anyone whom he deems sinful. The character was a recurring enemy of both Daredevil and Spider-Man over the years.

Along with his regular role in the CW series Hart of Dixie, Bethel also had a recurring role in the soap opera The Young and the Restless, and appeared in Bates Motel and the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.

New showrunner

Marvel confirmed in late October 2017 that the series would get a new showrunner for the third season, with Erik Oleson replacing second-season showrunners Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez. Steven S. DeKnight served as the showrunner for the first season of the series.

Oleson comes to Daredevil after serving as the head writer and executive producer for the Amazon Studios series The Man in the High Castle. No stranger to shows based on comic-book source material, Oleson spent a year as a writer and co-executive producer on The CW series Arrow, based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow.

Updated on October 16, 2018: Added a video profile of Vincent D’Onofrio’s return as Wilson Fisk.

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