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Marvel Studios has quietly recast Kingpin's parents ahead of Daredevil: Born Again
While we weren’t paying attention, two Daredevil characters were recast. What does it mean for canon? Probably nothing.
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Filming is currently underway on the rejuvenated Daredevil: Born Again by Marvel Studios, with both Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio (among others) reprising their roles from the hit 2015-2018 Netflix series. But two actors who seemingly won't be are those who played Kingpin's parents Bill and Marlene Fisk.
Barely noticed at the time, but in the Echo season finale contained a tense showdown between Maya Lopez and her former mentor Wilson Fisk. During the battle, Maya used her powers to heal Kingpin’s psychological trauma. As she enters Fisk’s mind, we see a flashback to the mobster’s childhood. Wilson Fisk (embodied as his adult self) is seen staring at a wall, trying to distract himself from the sounds of his father beating his mother. This is a reference to Kingpin’s childhood flashbacks in Daredevil season 1.
We don’t see Bill or Marlene Fisk during this sequence, but we can hear their voices. According to the credits, Bill was voiced by Richie Palmer Sr. and Marlene was voiced by M. Both characters have been recast from the Netflix show, where they were portrayed by Domenick Lombardozzi and and the late Phyliss Somerville.
Does this mean anything for the Netflix continuity debate? Probably not.
We’re talking about Bill and Marlene Fisk here, not Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. While they serve an important role in Kingpin’s backstory, it’s not like they were breakout characters. Plus, these are just their voices we’re talking about.
With Marlene Fisk, Marvel Studios didn’t have much of a choice. Phyliss Somerville passed away in 2020. Could Marvel Studios have used audio of Bill and Marlene fighting from the Netflix series? Maybe, but there might be rights issues involved with using content from another series. It was probably easier (and cheaper) to record something new. Maybe Lombardozzi was unavailable, or maybe the producers didn’t see a point in tracking down the actor for a voice-only role that would last less than a minute. If you're already getting a new Marlene, then what difference does a new Bill make?
Sure, Wilson Fisk’s parents have been recast, but it’s certainly smaller than recasting Hulk, War Machine, General Ross, or Red Skull - which we've all lived through. It's unknown even if Kingpin's parents will play a role in Daredevil: Born Again.
Fear not, we have the essentials when it comes to Marvel's Daredevil. From the best Daredevil stories of all time, to a guide to watching Daredevil, a comprehensive guide to Marvel Studios' Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+, Marvel's Daredevil actors, ranked from Charlie Cox to Ben Affleck and even Rex Smith, how Frank Miller accidentally killed a Daredevil cartoon (and Marvel killed a book to avoid pissing him off), and even that time we caught Daredevil actor Charlie Cox sneaking into New York Comic Con as Bluey.
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