Daredevil’s season 1 showrunner, Steven S. DeKnight, wants to see a six-part Kingpin miniseries. This piece of information follows hot on the heels on the announcement that Vincent D’Onofrio will reprise the role of criminal kingpin Wilson Fisk in Daredevil season 3, which will have Erik Oleson (The Man in the High Castle, Arrow) stepping into the showrunner position.
DeKnight helmed Daredevil season 1 for Marvel and Netflix, setting the tone - with help from Drew Goddard - for this dark and gritty corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, DeKnight didn’t stick around: Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez took the Daredevil reins for season 2, and DeKnight went off to direct Pacific Rim: Uprising and contribute to the Transformers Cinematic Universe writers room.
When the news broke that DeKnight’s season 1 big bad, Kingpin, will be returning for season 3, excitement was rife in the Daredevil fan base. One fan Tweeted to say, “Yes! Now can we just get @stevendeknight back as well.” DeKnight saw this Tweet, and responded in a highly intriguing way:
I’d be down for a six ep Return of the King mini series with @vincentdonofrio. https://t.co/89tc5QOxzL— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) October 25, 2017
DeKnight clearly stated in his Tweet that he would be interested in a six-part Kingpin-centric miniseries, starring Vincent D’Onofrio’s fearsome Fisk. DeKnight cited Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark’s “Daredevil: Return of the King” comics as a potential inspiration. This five-issue comic book run saw the Kingpin returning from abroad to avenge the death of the woman he loved, and her children. To do so, Fisk teamed up with Daredevil to take down their mutual enemies – Lady Bullseye and The Hand.
It’s easy to see the small screen potential in this story. Fisk was last seen in prison, during Daredevil season 2, so he is due to make a big comeback of some sort. Plus, a team-up with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock would be an interesting change of pace. Fisk’s lady love – Vanessa, played by Ayelet Zurer – is very much alive at the moment, though. They would need to kill her off to adapt this story faithfully, which could provide a huge amount of drama.
However, Daredevil season 3 seems to be pressing ahead with Oleson as showrunner instead of DeKnight, and with the “Born Again” comics providing inspiration instead of “Return of the King”. DeKnight’s ideas are very cool, but they don’t seem to be happening at the moment. The Marvel/Netflix partnership doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, though, so they could happen at some point in the future.
The Punisher season 1 premieres Friday, November 17 on Netflix. Premiere dates for the new seasons of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist have yet to be announced.
Source: Steven S. DeKnight
