On Thursday, Marvel announced that film vet Joanne Whalley will join the cast of Marvel’s Daredevil in Season 3 in the pivotal role of Sister Maggie.
At the end of Marvel’s The Defenders, Matt begins to wake in the hospital ward of a convent after those closest to him believe he was killed fighting Elektra when the Midland Circle building collapsed above them. One of the nuns turns and asks for someone to get Sister Maggie.
Though still not confirmed, rumors are that Daredevil’s third slate will be an adaptation, at least in part, of one of the most well-known of the character’s comic story arcs, Born Again. Written by Frank Miller and drawn by David Mazzucchelli, the 1986 storyline found a desperate Karen Page giving up Daredevil’s secret identity as Matt Murdock in exchange for drugs. The information finds its way to Murdock’s nemesis Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, who proceeds to tear apart every aspect of Matt’s life. After being severely injured, Daredevil stumbles to his late father’s old gym and is found by Sister Maggie, who turns out to be Matt’s mother who abandoned him and his father and eventually became a nun. She nurses him back to health.
It seems reasonable that a similar part will play out for Maggie in the series, though Marvel’s press release doesn’t explicitly mention the familial relationship but hints at it. Maggie is described as “a strong-willed nun who speaks her mind and cares deeply about Matt’s safety.”
Maggie has been hinted at twice in the series back in Season 1. Jack Murdock, Matt’s father, calls and leaves a message for Maggie to look after Matt after he anticipates his forthcoming demise. Later, when Stick is first going to meet Matt as a boy, he asks one of the nuns if his mother was dead but gets a coy answer instead.
Whalley is known for roles in Willow, Edge of Darkness, The Borigas, and Wolf Hall.
All episodes of Marvel’s Daredevil are expected to be released on Netflix later in 2018.