Summary
- Actors advocated for expanding Daredevil: Born Again to nine episodes, indicating issues with studio decision-making.
- Writer’s strike benefited the show as it prompted Marvel to switch showrunners and rework the storyline.
- Despite production setbacks, the revamped show under a new showrunner has the potential to succeed and revive Marvel’s reputation.
Marvel’s upcoming Daredevil: Born Again has already apparently been subjected to behind-the-scenes drama, with troubling talk that the show’s original six-episode format nearly shortchanged its potential. Both Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, known for their iconic portrayals of Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, respectively, have gone on record talking about the limited number of episodes that was initially planned for Daredevil: Born Again They reportedly campaigned for more, ultimately convincing Marvel to expand the series to nine episodes. Given the extensive fan excitement surrounding any Daredevil project, it’s surprising that the creative team needed to fight so hard for a format that would adequately showcase these beloved characters.
The Daredevil: Born Again cast taking it upon themselves to safeguard the show suggests an unsettling pattern in the studio’s decision-making. After the lackluster reception of Captain America: Brave New World and other recent miscalculations, it feels like Marvel may be missing the mark more often than expected. Hearing that a show as beloved by its fans as Daredevil: Born Again nearly didn’t receive the room it needed to flourish raises serious questions about the company’s current approach.
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Daredevil: Born Again Actors Took Control
In a recent interview with GQ, Cox and D’Onofrio talked about how things came to be that Daredevil: Born Again went from a six-episode arc, to a nine-episode arc mostly because they had the time to really push Marvel to change up the direction it planned to go with the revival of the popular Netflix show on Disney+.
It turns out that the writer’s strike, which derailed so many shows, including beloved horror series like Evil, actually benefitted the Born Again cast and crew, and writers. What the writer’s strike did was push Marvel to change up the leadership of the show. It replaced the Daredevil revival showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord with Dario Scardapane, who had worked on Netflix’s The Punisher.
In turn, Cox claims that Scardapane reworked the entire series and the direction it was going. He wash among those who pushed to go from six to nine installments, allowing far more of a story to unfold after such a long wait for The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen to officially return to the MCU in more than a couple of cameos here and there.
More than simply extending the series, Scardapane seemed to really understand what made the first show so popular and so entertaining. He also rehired much of the original cast and crew, including Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), and Phil Silvera, the stunt coordinator behind the original’s signature fights. Cox and D’onofrio feel as though what’s coming to Disney+ is now much more in keeping with the series that made Daredevil: Born Again possible to begin with.
“We made it known that we were not happy, and the big bosses, especially Kevin [Feige], listened to us.”
Marvel Keeps Making Concerning Mistakes
While it’s obviously a good thing that Feige and the rest of the Marvel bigwigs did listen to the cast and crew, it’s more than a little disconcerting that Marvel had to be convinced to do things like bringing back even more of the original cast – who helped make the original series so beloved – and that it wasn’t the plan all along.
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Created By |
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Showrunner |
Dario Scardapane |
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Starring |
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As Cox pointed out in the same interview, Marvel does deserve kudos for realizing the direction they were going in wasn’t the right one. To the point where they changed who was in charge of that direction. But with mixed reviews of most of the projects that has been part of the MCU since Avengers: End Game, it’s worth worrying if Feige still has the magic touch he did for so long.
Daredevil: Born Again Needs To Succeed For The MCU’s Sake
With the unofficial relaunch, starting with Captain America: Brave New World, the MCU is flooding the zone with programming and movies this year. The reception for the year’s first movie has been less than encouraging. Born Again is now the next chance to turn things around and show that Marvel isn’t moving in the wrong direction.
Of course, even if Daredevil: Born Again does arrive with great reviews and jump starts excitement over what’s to come for the rest of the year and beyond, there’s still the lingering question. Did Feige and company find that success because they know what buttons to press? Or did they luck out with a group that pushed back so much, they had to eventually get it right against their wishes?
Daredevil: Born Again
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Showrunner
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Chris Ord
- Directors
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Michael Cuesta, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Chris Ord
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Charlie Cox
Matt Murdock / Daredevil
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Vincent D’Onofrio
Wilson Fisk / Kingpin
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Deborah Ann Woll
Karen Page
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Elden Henson
Foggy Nelson
More
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