News that Charlie Cox will return as Daredevil via his own Disney Plus series initially delighted fans, but that excitement is starting to sour.
Netflix’s take on the Man Without Fear was a huge hit for the streamer, despite diminishing interest as the series went on. Early seasons of Daredevil were near-universally popular and created a die-hard group of fans for Netflix’s version of the story. It’s set to return, with Cox at the helm, via Disney Plus’ Daredevil: Born Again, but not everyone has faith in Disney’s vision for the show.
Thus far, fans still know very little about Born Again, but Daredevil’s early appearances in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law — paired with hints from Disney about how it intends to approach the show — give fans a bare idea of what to expect. Daredevil’s appearances in She-Hulk were largely comedic, and Disney promises a far more lighthearted show than Netflix offered up, which has left fans wondering how Matt Murdock’s legal side will fare on its new streaming home.
The courtroom drama half of Netflix’s Daredevil was by far one of the show’s most popular aspects, particularly in its early seasons. People loved the balance of intriguing legal arguments alongside well-choreographed fight scenes and they’re very much hoping to see both elements return in Born Again.
An underrated scene from early in the Netflix series has fans once again pondering Daredevil’s future, and fervently hoping that Disney Plus chooses to maintain a focus on the legal aspects of Matt Murdock’s crimefighting career. Shared to Reddit’s Marvel Studios sub by user JamJamGaGa, the stellar scene has longtime fans ardently hoping that “Daredevil: Born Again has courtroom seqences [sic] that are as well written as this.”
The scene in question shows Matt taking a long moment to assess the jury, using his super-powered hearing, before launching into an eloquent defense of his client. It has all the best elements of a tantalizing courtroom drama, and its ability to weigh this against Matt’s crimefighting side gig is a master class.
The shared scene quickly sparked a discussion about Daredevil’s future at Disney Plus, and fans of the show aren’t holding out much hope. They’d love to see the show faithfully adapted to its new streamer, of course, but chances that Disney stays true to the many elements that made Daredevil so popular are slim. This sentiment drenches the post’s comment section, where commenters warn their peers not to hold their breath, and sourly predict a severely watered-down Murdock when Born Again releases.
There’s still hope that Disney will maintain the best elements of Netflix’s Daredevil, while shaving off the less-than-stellar ones, but it’s unlikely. The promise of a more lighthearted approach will almost certainly eliminate the gritty, tense elements of the original, and the MCU’s tendency to lean into overpowered fight scenes and dry, predictable conclusions doesn’t bode well for a show that should instead lean on its differences. Born Again would be at its best if it barely resembled any of its peers on the Marvel section of Disney Plus, but fans aren’t overly optimistic.
