In addition to Wilson Fisk, Season 3 of Daredevil will also be introducing another iconic Daredevil villain, Bullseye. It’s pretty much a given now that each new Marvel/Netflix series will have a couple of bad guys to throw at the protagonist, and with Season 2 of Marvel’s The Punisher currently filming in and around NYC, fans are eagerly awaiting a glimpse of Ben Barnes, in the hope he will be wearing his new Jigsaw makeup. But we have a sneaking suspicion that Billy Russo might not be the only facially-scarred villain that Frank faces of against this season, and that Irish gang boss Finn Cooley may make a surprise return. Allow us to explain.
Audiences last saw Cooley about halfway through the events of Season Two of Daredevil, where he was apparently killed off by The Punisher. Introduced as what was essentially a throwaway character, Tony Curran’s brilliant performance immediately elevated the psychotic mafia boss, oozing confident menace and murderous indifference. Totally devoted to avenging his son’s death, he inflicted an eye-flinching amount of damage on the vigilante, before Daredevil’s intervention ultimately cost him his life.
Despite having taken a shotgun blast to the face, the door is still wide open for Curran to reprise the role of Cooley. In fact, it’s almost a done deal. In the original comic book run, we never see Cooley’s real face, as he was hideously disfigured by one of his own bombs whilst working for the Provisional IRA. Instead, what’s left of his mangled features are held in place by a plastic mask and straps, making him a hauntingly memorable opponent.
Which is all well and good, but why do we think he’ll be back for The Punisher’s second season? Because Tony Curran just happens to be in New York for a sustained period, right at the same time that the show is filming. A prolific Twitter user, Curran tweeted this week that he would be spending all summer in the city for the first time in a while. He tweeted a casting call for Ray Donovan, and hinted he was working alongside fellow Brit Eddie Marsan, who appeared in season 5 of the show.
Which may well be true, despite the fact that neither he or Marsan have been announced for series six of Ray Donovan, and neither feature on the show’s IMDb profile for the new series either. Netflix are notorious for keeping surprise casting reveals and shock events in their Marvel shows, so it could well be an elaborate ruse by Curran to justify why he’s in town. And, even if it is true, that doesn’t mean he won’t have time to do some filming for The Punisher, if even for a cameo.
There’s also the fact that other than Russo, no real villain has been revealed yet for the new Punisher series. It’s believed that Josh Stewart’s character, John Pligrim, may be some form of antagonist, but certainly not of the notoriety that we’ve come to expect from the show. The return of YET ANOTHER demented villain, hideously deformed at the hands of Frank Castle and seeking revenge, would be an absolute master stroke for the show. So watch this space. After all, we’ve been known to be right about these things before…