As the recent massive behind-the-scenes creative shake-up begins to bear fruit, Marvel fans are regaining hope that the upcoming Disney Plus show, Daredevil: Born Again, might meet their expectations, set to barely reachable heights thanks to the undeniable quality of the Netflix original this new version is meant to expand upon.
Netflix’s Daredevil is one of the most beloved Marvel properties ever made, and its fans campaigned relentlessly to bring its cast and characters into the MCU fold after the birth of Disney Plus led to the show’s cancellation at the competing streaming service.
Their prayers were met as Marvel announced a new Daredevil show, produced under the Marvel Studios and Disney Plus banner and titled Daredevil: Born Again. In the lead-up to what is probably the most hotly anticipated property in the MCU since No Way Home, Marvel has sprinkled other productions with sights of the series leads Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio). And this is where things get interesting…
How Daredevil: Born Again‘s new leadership is making fans’ dreams come true
The early stages of Born Again hinted at a story that maintained some aspects of its predecessor while not staying entirely truthful to its development, in line with the multiversal variants of characters we’ve been introduced to in the MCU for the past few years. Case in point, familiar characters were recast, while staples like Matt Murdock’s trusted companions, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, were initially shunned from the new series altogether, and killed off off-screen.
The backlash, of course, was swift, leading Kevin Feige and Co. to reevaluate their plans for the project. A completely new team was appointed, and the show went back to the drawing board. The Punisher writer and executive producer Dario Scardapane was tapped as showrunner, while Moon Knight and Loki Season 2’s Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead came on board as directors.
While credible reports like those from Variety still make a point of clarifying that the new show “is not meant to be a continuation of the events from the Netflix shows,” new canon developments (more on that later), and recent casting rumors that Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll, and Wilson Bethel could be returning after all as Foggy, Karen, and Bullseye, respectively, seem to indicate otherwise.
Armed with his experience on The Punisher, Scardapane brings knowledge and understanding of the previously established tone of the Netflix shows, while Benson and Moorhead will certainly contribute their own expertise of the inner workings of Marvel’s multiverse and Sacred Timeline from their time on the second season of Loki. The result, we hope, will be a Daredevil show that brings new energy to the popular character and world, while simultaneously honoring the past versions that have made them so idolized within the Marvel fanbase.
How Echo changed the game for Daredevil: Born Again
Echo, Disney and Marvel’s 5-part mini-series about Fisk protegé Maya Lopez, gave us the most recent —and most promising — glimpse of what’s to come for the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and his perpetual nemesis. What’s more, it made no bones about adopting full-fledged scenes from the Netflix iteration of Fisk — namely, the ones portraying his complicated childhood.
On top of that, after Echo dropped on Disney Plus, the platform added all six Marvel Netflix series (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, The Punisher, and The Defenders) to its in-app timeline order, indicating that the events of Echo had just roped the Netflix Marvel narratives into official MCU canon.
Viewers were quick to point out that this decision was a result of the new direction chosen by the newly appointed creative team behind Daredevil: Born Again, which is looking increasingly more interlinked with the title’s worshipped Netflix history. Just as fans had hoped.
Glad to hear they are listening to what the fans want pic.twitter.com/Qq5KBMPx7k
— ImJustMeAbel (@ImJustMeAbel) January 17, 2024
That creative overhaul is one of the greatest things to ever happen pic.twitter.com/8S0ihRAf3U
— Austin (@AustinPlanet) January 17, 2024
This creative overhaul was the best thing to happen for the daredevil continuity
— Truly Pete (72%)👽 🔜 Some Rave Eventually (@AStateofPete) January 17, 2024
This is absolutely one of the BEST decisions they made. I’m truly glad they’re taking the much needed steps to make sure this show (along with the future of these characters) is done right.
— Jordan Jones (@jordnjnes) January 17, 2024
D’Onofrio confirmed as much, telling The Hollywood Reporter that canonizing the Netflix shows was a direct result of the creative overhaul.
“During our restart of all the creative on Daredevil: Born Again, all the creatives got together and said, ‘Look, this is how we’ve got to do it now.’ So we are for sure only speaking about it in terms of being directly connected to the original Daredevil, and that’s a great thing. It brings in a lot of cool stories and all the collateral story that happened in those original three seasons.”
It really does sound like we’re allowed to be cautiously optimistic just this once.