Born Again’ Changed Its Storyline for One Reason

Daredevil: Born Again will feature a vastly different storyline than was originally intended by the former creative team, according to the show’s star, Charlie Cox. Cox, who portrays the blind lawyer Matt Murdock and his super-powered alter ego, reveals why the Disney+ series switched gears to what will hopefully be another victory for the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the small screen. Cox said in an interview with SFX magazine (per GamesRadar+):

“There was a U-turn after the strike [2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA], where we were headed in one direction, which was interesting and valid. The argument was, if we’re coming back after all these years, we don’t want to just do exactly the same thing. Marvel looked at the episodes and knew it wasn’t quite working.

We shot a whole new pilot, and they reorganized what we had filmed to make it feel more like the show we had shot all those years previously. Given what a Herculean task that was, it’s very impressive what they achieved.”

The highly anticipated revival of the Netflix Daredevil series, which ran for three seasons from 2015 until 2018, features the return of several fan-favorite characters joining Cox’s titular vigilante for Born Again. However, it’s reasonable to speculate that Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin, will once again be among the man without fear’s most dangerous adversaries.

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Showrunner Offers His Two Cents on Story’s New Direction

Daredevil: Born Again’s official trailer on YouTube has amassed over 14 million views and 568,000 likes since first dropping back on Jan. 15, and the exciting footage doesn’t appear to be holding anything back. Marvel fans are immediately reintroduced to Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk at a local diner as they casually catch up with one another.

However, the hero and villain’s respective stories were significantly retooled once the new showrunner, Dario Scardapane, took the helm. Scardapane briefly discussed the series changing direction, and then he addressed where the fans will find Murdock and his friends at the outset of Born Again. Scarapane said during the same interview:

“[The original footage] had some really strong points, but it wasn’t feeling in line with what Daredevil had been established to be. At the very end of the Netflix show, Foggy [Elden Henson], Karen [Deborah Ann Woll], and Matt had a dream written out on the back of a napkin. We start with that dream. It’s not a dream that needs too much explanation; three good friends go into business together.”

Daredevil: Born Again begins streaming Tuesday, March 4, on Disney+. In addition to Cox, D’Onofrio, Henson, and Woll, Wilson Bethel also returns as the villainous Bullseye. Plus, defending Hell’s Kitchen wouldn’t be as much fun without Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher, showing up to wreak havoc in the MCU series.

Additionally, the man without fear will have to contend with the mysterious Muse. The brand-new character didn’t even appear in the comic books until after the Netflix Daredevil series ended. Muse originally showed up for the first time in 2016 during the “Dark Art” storyline, but he killed himself in the epic 600th issue of Daredevil in 2018.