*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fightland episodes 1-3.*
It’s difficult to say at this point just who Kingsley Marshall is, seeing as he’s not really anywhere to be seen in the first few episodes of Fightland.
The businessman and promoter certainly doesn’t mince his words, proving to lead with tough love when it comes to son Zeek (Charles Babalola) and seemingly being the person behind the murder of Duke’s brother Calvin (Jurell Carter). He’s the man that everyone respects but also fears in equal supply, with actor Nicholas Pinnock teasing his return to the fold.
Whilst the first few episodes of Fightland have continued to keep us on our toes, Kingsley has remained the unseen enigma as he’s disappeared, leaving his wife Joy (Deborah Ayorinde) to fend for their children and pick up the pieces.
Nicholas Pinnock and Howard Charles in Fightland. Sky/Starz
When asked what we can expect of Kingsley’s return, Pinnock revealed: “Kingsley disappears after episode 1 physically, but his presence is felt all the time because everyone’s looking for Kingsley. Where is Kingsley? What’s he going to think? Everyone! Duke is trying to find him because he wants to kill him. Everybody is looking for Kingsley so he’s there the whole time.
“When he comes back, it’s at a pivotal moment in Duke’s story where he thinks one thing’s going to happen, but then Kingsley comes back and completely knocks that off the shelf.”
He continues: “When he does come back, it’s like he’s this whirlwind that disrupts everything that everyone has gotten comfortable with. Everything with Kingsley, you think you know – you have no idea because he will turn that around.
“What I love about him, especially after episode 5 when he comes back, is there’s a lot of manipulation that he comes with. There’s a lot of force that he comes back with. But again, just when you think you know what he’s going to do, he will change your loyalty and you’ll love him one minute and hate him the next.”
So far, we’ve seen that Duke has been dealt his fair share of trouble since leaving prison but has returned to London on a sole mission to find Kingsley. Now intent on taking over Kingsley’s role as a kingpin in the drug industry, will he succeed?
As per the synopsis: “Working with a cartel desperate to control London’s drug market, Duke begins a high-risk game of infiltrating Kingsley’s empire to destroy it from within and smoke out his enemy. But amidst a volatile criminal landscape, and competing influences threatening to pull him off course, Duke will need to channel everything that made him a champion fighter into his bloody pursuit to win the ultimate victory – revenge for his brother.”
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