Although the Netflix original series Daredevil primarily focuses on the life, adventures, and general turmoil of blind lawyer Matt Murdock, after one season the series has already established an impressive ensemble of strong, well-rounded characters. Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle and Elodie Yung’s Elektra are already set to join the proceedings in Season 2, and it was only a matter of time before more new faces started to pop up. Now, with the vigilante of Hell’s Kitchen gearing up for his second season, the series has cast actor Stephen Rider – known for his work in Lee Daniel’s The Butler – for a role familiar to comic book fans.
Rider joins the cast of Daredevil as Blake Tower: a New York City District Attorney who feeds information to Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, and aids in his heroic efforts. According to Deadline, the actor has been added as a series regular, so if nothing else, we can assume his role will be prominent as well as important to the narrative, rather than just a one-off guest appearance. Becasue both Tower and Murdock make their livings as lawyers, they will likely see a great deal of one another during both the day and nighttime hours. Season 1 spoilers in the next sentence!Given the untimely demise of reporter Ben Urich towards the end Daredevil’s last season – as well as the added threat of The Punisher rampaging through Hell’s Kitchen – Murdock will likely need all the help that Tower can provide.
Tower himself already has a basis in the Marvel mythos, existing in Earth 616 – Marvel’s main comic book continuity – as a New York District Attorney who has worked with numerous heroes aside from Daredevil, such as Captain America and She-Hulk. Given his resume for prolific work with various New York superheroes, Tower could possibly become a unifying link between the various Marvel series that Netflix will produce over the next few years, working with the titular characters in Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and eventually Iron Fist.
Having Tower as an ally will no doubt make information easier for Daredevil to obtain – there are only so many cops that Foggy Nelson can bribe – but it also makes things easier on the writers. Having an inside man in the District Attorney’s office has become a common trope in films and TV shows that focus on street level vigilantes. From Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, to The CW’s Arrow, having someone on the right side of the law to spoon feed exposition has proven helpful time and time again for both heroes and audiences alike. That being said, Daredevil has thus far played fairly fast and loose with certain aspects of the Marvel continuity, so the nature of Tower’s relationship to Matt Murdock remains to be seen.
Daredevil returns to Netflix with a newly bolstered ensemble of characters sometime in early 2016.
