The stakes are high for Disney when it comes to what might just be the most anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe show to date. Fans personally campaigned for the return of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock when the Daredevil series on Netflix got the boot following the birth of Disney’s own streaming platform in 2019. Fast forward a few years and Daredevil: Born Again is now in its early production days, with casting news all pretty much out of the bag, leaving room for both enthusiasm and major upset.
If, on the one hand, the announcement of Jon Bernthal reprising his role as Frank Castle left fans on the edge of their seats, on the other, the news that Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson, who played Karen and Foggy in Daredevil respectively, will not be coming along for the ride left many wary about the upcoming project.
The reason at the root of this decision will only be known in full when Daredevil: Born Again hits home screens next year, but it’s fair to speculate, given previous statements from the stars of the show, that Disney and Marvel were not interested in continuing the Netflix narrative. Instead, it is becoming increasingly clear that Daredevil: Born Again will be more of a reboot or remake of its predecessor.
The choice to keep some of the actors — such as Cox as Murdock, Bernthal as Castle, Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, and possibly Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones — will likely be explained through the concept of the multiverse, but the introduction of a brand a new supporting cast, as well as the recasting of some key characters, will drive the point home that Daredevil: Born Again is its own, completely different show.
Cox has used the comics world as a reference for Disney’s approach to the forthcoming season, explaining that, as in the source material, Born Again might go back to the beginning and give Matt Murdock a similar, yet unique, origin story. “Kevin [Feige] has been very clear about it being season one, so not a season four, so it’s a whole new deal,” he told ET back in October, adding that “what’s great about that is that we potentially get to tell some of the stories over and over again in the same way that they do in the comics.” D’Onofrio also echoed this sentiment in a tweet to a fan, calling the new show “very different” from the Netflix original, as well as “brand new and really smart.”
Cox, D’Onofrio, and all the returning actors were likely called upon because their turns as these characters in the Marvel Netflix universe were so iconic and perfectly cast that Kevin Feige and co. did not want to mess with a winning team. However, they probably did still want to differentiate between the two shows, and leaving Wall and Henson out of their plans might have been a way to achieve that.
The duo has also very much become synonymous with Karen and Foggy, and we don’t think fans will take well to new actors playing these characters. Therefore, we’re conjecturing that Karen and Foggy will be absent from the show altogether, with maybe Matt mentioning them and explaining their absence at some point, thus opening the doors for Wall and Henson to join the team in possible future seasons.
At this point in time, the only thing that has been confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter is that Woll and Henson are “not on the roll call” for Daredevil: Born Again. Everything else is just speculation on our part, based on comments made by those who are involved.
The first season of Daredevil: Born Again will be comprised of 18 episodes, and is scheduled to premiere in the Spring of 2024.
