After spending the last few months of his life fighting undead ninjas and foiling one of the weirdest plans for world domination in MCU history, it’s looking like Matt Murdock will get back to his Hell’s Kitchen roots in Daredevil‘s third season. Marvel announced that Joanne Whalley is joining Netflix’s Daredevil next season as Sister Maggie.
Image: Marvel
Whalley, who you may remember best as Sorsha from Ron Howard’s 1988 fantasy epic Willow, previously stepped into the superhero world when she voiced characters on Justice League Unlimited. Marvel’s Jeph Loeb said, “We are big fans of Joanne’s work and are fortunate that someone of her calibre will be joining our already talented family.” Her character is described as a “strong-willed nun who speaks her mind and cares deeply about Matt’s safety”, and she’ll come into Matt’s life just as the newly-freed Kingpin is beginning to tear it apart. But if you’re a frequent comic reader you know there’s more to the story.
Sister Maggie also happens to be Matt’s long-lost mother, who abandoned her family while dealing with intense postpartum depression. Maggie’s casting further suggests that Daredevil season three will draw at least some of its inspiration from Frank Miller’s “Born Again” story arc, in which the Kingpin exacts his revenge on Daredevil by going after Matt Murdock when he discovers they are one and the same.
Though “Born Again” is one of the most significant Daredevil stories in the character’s history, there are enough elements to the plot that wouldn’t necessarily gel with the MCU’s Daredevil to assume that some things may be quite different. In “Born Again” it’s Karen Page, depicted as a drug-addicted failed actress, who reveals Matt’s secret to Kingpin in exchange for heroin.
The MCU’s Karen is (at least for now) the farthest thing from a heroin addict, and she doesn’t seem particularly interested in outing Matt. Further, “Born Again” eventually crosses over into Avengers territory, which simply isn’t going to happen here. That’s all to say that the MCU’s version of Sister Maggie might not be Matt’s mother, but rather a concerned nun hoping to help a member of the community.
Either way, Maggie’s sure to be a welcome addition to the fray, because the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen needs all the friends he can get.