Daredevil: Born Again

Daredevil: Born Again is an upcoming American television miniseries created for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics character Daredevil. It is intended to be one of the television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, via its Marvel Television label, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It will be the second series centered on the character following Daredevil (2015–2018) by the previous Marvel Television production company and Netflix. Dario Scardapane serves as showrunner with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead as lead directors.

Charlie Cox reprises his role as Matt Murdock / Daredevil from Marvel's Netflix television series and prior Marvel Studios productions, with Vincent D'Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Margarita Levieva, Michael Gandolfini, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel, Jeremy Earl, and Ayelet Zurer, also starring. Development of the series began by March 2022. Matt Corman and Chris Ord were hired as head writers by May, and gave the series an episodic structure and lighter tone than the Netflix series. Born Again was announced in July. Filming began in early March 2023 in New York, but was suspended in June due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Marvel Studios decided to overhaul the series by late September and released Corman, Ord, and the initial directors. Scardapane, Benson, and Moorhead were hired the following month, and the approach changed to be serialized and more directly connected to the Netflix series. Filming resumed in January 2024 and wrapped in April.

Daredevil: Born Again is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in March 2025, and is expected to consist of 18 episodes divided into nine-episode halves. It will be part of Phase Five of the MCU.

Premise

Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk try to put their rivalry and darker alter-egos aside to help the people of New York, only for their pasts to "catch up to them".

Cast and characters

• Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil:
  A blind lawyer from Hell's Kitchen, New York, who leads a double life as a masked vigilante. Cox appreciated being able to reprise the role from Marvel's Netflix series in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) before returning for this series, since he was able to have "a bit of fun" and see Murdock interact with characters that Daredevil (2015–2018) was unable to feature. For Born Again, they could then "set our own tone... and explore and develop all of the possibilities of his life back in New York". Cox had begun training for the role by October 2022, focusing on mixed martial arts (MMA) training in the hope of portraying Murdock as someone who has training in various fight styles that he can employ depending on who he is fighting, rather than just being an all-around brawler.
• Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin:
  A powerful businessman and crime lord, who is running for mayor of New York City. Following the series' creative overhaul, D'Onofrio said the tone for his character that was used for Echo (2024) would continue in Born Again, which he believed was how the character was best portrayed.
• Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher:
  A vigilante who aims to fight the criminal underworld by any means necessary, no matter how lethal the results are.
• Margarita Levieva as Heather Glenn: Murdock's love interest.
• Michael Gandolfini as Daniel Blade
• Genneya Walton as BB Urich: A young journalist.
• Arty Froushan as Buck Cashman
• Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page: A former reporter and Murdock's friend and partner at the Nelson, Murdock & Page law firm.
• Elden Henson as Franklin "Foggy" Nelson: Murdock's best friend and law partner.
• Wilson Bethel as Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter:
  A psychopathic FBI agent who is able to use almost any object as a lethal projectile. He previously masqueraded as Daredevil for Fisk, before Fisk broke his back.
• Jeremy Earl as Cole North: An officer of the New York City Police Department and a member of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force.
• Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Marianna-Fisk:
  Wilson's wife. Sandrine Holt had originally been cast to replace Zurer, who portrayed the character in Daredevil, before the series' creative overhaul.

Additionally, Lou Taylor Pucci has been cast in an undisclosed role. Prior to the series' creative overhaul, the following were known to be involved with the series: Nikki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie, Clark Johnson as Cherry, and Zabryna Guevara as Sheila Rivera, along with Michael Gaston, Marc Geller, and Harris Yulin.

Episodes

The series is expected to consist of 18 episodes divided into nine-episode halves. Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Clark Johnson, and David Boyd were directing episodes of the series before a creative overhaul, after which Benson and Moorhead were hired to direct the remainder of the season.

Production

Background

Daredevil, from Marvel Television and ABC Studios, premiered on Netflix in April 2015, and lasted for three seasons until its cancellation in November 2018. Netflix said the three seasons would remain on the service, while the character would "live on in future projects for Marvel". Deadline Hollywood noted that, unlike some of the other Marvel series on Netflix that were also cancelled, "the door seems to be wide open" for the series to continue elsewhere, potentially on Disney's streaming service Disney+. However, The Hollywood Reporter felt this was unlikely, especially since, as reported by Variety, the original deal between Marvel and Netflix stipulated that the characters could not appear in any non-Netflix series or films for at least two years following the cancellation of Daredevil. Kevin A. Mayer, chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, said there was a possibility that Disney+ could revive the series but this had not yet been discussed. Hulu's senior vice president of originals, Craig Erwich, said his streaming service was also open to reviving the series.

Star Charlie Cox was saddened by the cancellation, explaining that he was excited by the plans for a fourth season which he and the rest of the cast and crew had expected to be made. He was hopeful there would be an opportunity to portray Matt Murdock / Daredevil again in some form. Amy Rutberg, who portrayed Marci Stahl in the series, said the cast and crew had expected it to last for five seasons, with a new antagonist being introduced in the fourth before a final showdown between Daredevil and Wilson Fisk / Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) in the fifth. In June 2020, Cox was contacted by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige about reprising his role for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) productions, with Feige confirming in December 2021 that Cox would reprise the role for Marvel Studios. He first did so in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and D'Onofrio first reprised his role as Fisk in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021). Daredevil was moved from Netflix to Disney+ in March 2022 after Netflix's license for the series ended and Disney regained the rights.

Development

Initial work

Cox discussed a potential reboot in March 2022, believing it should begin a few years after the end of the previous series and be "re-imagined" rather than continue from where that series' third season ended. He also discussed a new series potentially not being rated TV-MA as the Netflix series was, stating that he believed Marvel Studios would be able to create a faithful version of the character with those restrictions even though he personally found the comics "more exciting, readable, relatable when it lives in a darker space" such as Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's run on the comics. Additionally, he felt important attributes of the character such as his age, Christian guilt, and history with women were more mature subjects. Cox was hopeful that a new series could have a more faithful adaptation of the "Born Again" storyline, from the comics by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, than the original series which had taken inspiration from that storyline for its third season. He described the storyline as "kind of a PG comic" and a guide for how the series could work with that rating.

Later in March, Production Weekly included a Daredevil reboot in their report of upcoming projects in development. Feige and Chris Gary were listed as producers. The series was confirmed to be in development for Disney+ in late May, with Matt Corman and Chris Ord attached as head writers and executive producers. The Hollywood Reporter said it was the first of the Marvel Netflix series to "get a new but continued series", later stating it would "technically be its fourth season". Deadline Hollywood also described it as a fourth season. During the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con in July, the series was announced as Daredevil: Born Again and was revealed to have 18 episodes for its first season. Cox said an 18-episode series was a "huge undertaking", but he felt Murdock being a lawyer allowed for many story possibilities and that was one of the reasons that the larger number of episodes was chosen. Christian Holub at Entertainment Weekly believed the title was a reference to the character "literally being 'born again' into the official MCU" rather than the series being an adaptation of the "Born Again" storyline. Cox described Born Again as a "whole new thing" and not a fourth season of the Netflix series, which he felt was "the way to go. If you are going to do it again, do it differently."

Michael Cuesta was revealed to be directing the first episode of the series in March 2023. Additional directors were expected to direct blocks of episodes. D'Onofrio stated at that time that they were working on two seasons of the series, and said there would be "gigantic payoffs" during the second season. He reiterated that they were approaching the new series differently from the Netflix series, and that there were very few plans to crossover and connect to the Netflix series. Jeffrey Nachmanoff and Clark Johnson—who was previously a director on the Marvel Netflix series Luke Cage (2016–2018)—joined the series as additional directors in May, with Johnson hired to direct two episodes. David Boyd was also set to direct.

Creative overhaul

By late September 2023, after six of the first season's 18 episodes had been filmed, Marvel Studios decided to overhaul the series with a new creative direction. Corman and Ord were let go as head writers, as were the directors for the remainder of the series. The studio began searching for new writers and directors. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel Studios executives had reviewed the footage so far and realized that Born Again "wasn't working". Corman and Ord's episodic take on the series was said to be a large divergence from the Netflix version, including that Cox did not appear in costume as Daredevil until the fourth episode. Marvel planned to retain some elements that had been shot, add new serialized elements, and move closer to the tone of the Netflix series. Corman and Ord were expected to still be credited as executive producers.

Dario Scardapane, who worked as a writer on Netflix's Daredevil spin-off series The Punisher (2017–2019), was hired to serve as showrunner for Born Again in October 2023. This came after Marvel changed its approach to television production to have more traditional showrunners rather than head writers. Scardapane was set to write new episodes as well as new scenes to fit with the pre-existing footage. Filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who previously worked on the Marvel Studios series Moon Knight (2022) and the second season of Loki (2023), were hired to direct the remaining episodes of the first season. D'Onofrio said the main creatives of the series got together soon after Scardapane joined the project and decided that Born Again should harken back to the tone of the Netflix series and continue storylines from it rather than be a complete reset. He was pleased with the hiring of Benson and Moorhead, who he felt were Marvel's "hottest talent". Cox felt there was "a really fine balance to strike" with continuing on from an existing series and calling it a new first season, believing the new direction did a good job of "hav[ing] a reason for remaking it" while still being familiar to what came before. In November, Benson and Moorhead said they were reviewing the existing footage and looking to prior Daredevil content, including the Netflix series, to inform the foundation of their direction. They said they were fans of Miller's "Born Again" run, and Benson said he was a fan of Daredevil as a child despite not being "a huge comic book guy".

Ahead of filming restarting in January 2024, Born Again was reported to have a lower episode count than the 18 episodes originally announced, though it was also reported to be "one big 18-episode limited series" with nine-episode halves that were not being called seasons for contractual reasons. D'Onofrio was unsure how many episodes Marvel Studios were now looking to create and said the number kept "fluctuating". By that time, Scardapane had written a new pilot episode and two additional episodes for the first half of the series. Cox confirmed in May 2024 that nine episodes had been filmed. Executive producers include Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Gary, and Sana Amanat, alongside Corman and Ord. Rudd Simmons serves as a producer. It is being released under Marvel Studios' "Marvel Television" label.

Writing

Original writers for the series included Grainne Godfree, Jill Blankenship, Aisha Porter-Christie, David Feige, Devon Kliger, Thomas Wong, Zachary Reiter, and Molly Nussbaum. Discussing the initial take on the series, Cox said it would be dark but not as gory as the Netflix series. He wanted to take what worked from Daredevil and broaden it for Born Again to appeal to a younger audience. Feige said the studio was hoping to experiment with more episodic, "self-contained" episodes with the series, unlike some of their Phase Four series that had a larger story split across multiple episodes. The series was described as a legal procedural.

Following the series' creative overhaul, serialized elements were set to be added to the episodes. D'Onofrio said the Marvel Studios series Echo (2024) would lead into the events of Born Again, and said Born Again would have a similar tone and feel to Echo. Like Echo, he believed Born Again would be part of the MCU's "Marvel Spotlight" banner. Marvel Studios' head of streaming, television, and animation Brad Winderbaum said Born Again's further connections to the Netflix series after the overhaul was influenced by how the studio's other series Loki and the animated X-Men '97 (2024–present) honored prior iterations of their characters to establish new storylines. The series will see Fisk running for mayor of New York City, after learning of the need for a strong candidate in the post-credits scene of Echo; this follows a late 2010s storyline from the comics in which Fisk becomes mayor that concluded with the "Devil's Reign" (2021–2022) event.

Casting

In June 2022, Variety reported that Cox and D'Onofrio were expected to return for the series. Their casting was confirmed a month later at San Diego Comic-Con. Cox was notified by Marvel Studios in early 2022 that they were looking to feature the character in another project following his appearances in No Way Home and the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), and learned that it was Born Again shortly before the series was formally announced at Comic-Con. In December, Michael Gandolfini, Margarita Levieva, and Sandrine Holt were cast in major roles. Deadline Hollywood reported that Gandolfini was portraying "an ambitious guy from Staten Island" named Liam, and that Levieva and Holt were playing love interests for Cox and D'Onofrio; Holt was cast as Vanessa Marianna-Fisk, replacing Ayelet Zurer from the original series.

Nikki M. James joined the cast by January 2023. In March, Jon Bernthal was revealed to be reprising his role of Frank Castle / Punisher from Daredevil and The Punisher in Born Again. Additional cast members from Daredevil, such as Deborah Ann Woll (who played Karen Page) and Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), were not expected to return, and it was unclear if their characters would appear in Born Again. Michael Gaston and Arty Froushan were also part of the cast, with Froushan in a major role that was reported to be an associate of Fisk's named Harry. Set photos the following month indicated that Harris Yulin was part of the cast. Clark Johnson was revealed to be cast in a recurring role in May, reported to be named Cherry, with Marc Geller also joining the cast. In September 2023, a United States Copyright Office filing for the series listed several roles: Levieva as Heather Glenn, Gandolfini as Daniel Blade, James as Kirsten McDuffie, Johnson as Cherry, Froushan as Buck Cashman, Genneya Walton as BB Urich, and Zabryna Guevara as Sheila Rivera.

By January 2024, following the creative overhaul, Woll and Henson were set to reprise their roles as Page and Nelson, and Wilson Bethel was set to reprise his role as Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter from Daredevil, reportedly for three episodes. It was initially unclear if any of the new Born Again cast members would be retained, though Levieva, Gandolfini, and Froushan were soon reaffirmed to be part of the cast through set photos. In February, Walton's character was reported to have a connection to one from the Netflix series. Set photos reaffirmed Bernthal's inclusion that April, while also revealing that Jeremy Earl had been cast as Cole North. Lou Taylor Pucci also joined the cast, and set photos revealed that Zurer would now be reprising her role as Marianna-Fisk for the series.

Design

Emily Gunshor serves as the costume designer for the series, while Michael Shaw serves as the production designer.

Filming

Principal photography began on March 6, 2023, in New York, under the working title Out the Kitchen. Cuesta directed the first episode of the series, with Nachmanoff, Johnson, and Boyd also directing episodes. Pedro Gómez Millán and Hillary Spera served as cinematographers. Filming took place in Yonkers outside the city mayor's office from March 7 through March 10. The production then moved to New York City, filming in Harlem, Manhattan, on March 13 and 14, and in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and at the Manhattan Municipal Building on March 15; Williamsburg was previously used as a shooting location for Daredevil. Filming took place at the New York County Courthouse on March 17.

Soundstage work occurred at Silvercup Studios East in Queens. Filming was set to take place at Silvercup East on May 8, when picketers participating in the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike prevented filming from occurring. Production was planned to resume the following day. Because of the strike, Corman and Ord were unable to be on set. After further picketing on May 10 at the series' set in Brooklyn once again shut down filming, production was paused for the remainder of the week. Additional filming shut downs because of picketing occurred in early-to-mid June at Silvercup East, before production was suspended until after the strike's conclusion on June 14. Filming was originally expected to last for eight months.

Following the series' creative overhaul, Benson and Moorhead were set to direct the new episodes, and Philip Silvera was hired as stunt coordinator and second unit director after previously working on the Netflix series. Filming resumed on January 22, 2024, with Spera serving as cinematographer on the new pilot episode. Set photos at the end of the month saw Cox, Henson, and Woll filming scenes, as well as a person in a costume resembling the character White Tiger. Set graffiti of Fisk was attributed to the artist Muse, indicating the character Muse could be featured in the series. In early April 2024, Bernthal and Cox filmed scenes in Brooklyn, ahead of a filming wrap party on April 5. Zurer and D'Onofrio filmed scenes in New York shortly after the wrap party. In mid-May, Cox and D'Onofrio said filming had been completed three or four weeks earlier, and nine episodes had been filmed.

Editing

Editors for the series include Cedric Nairn-Smith, Melissa Lawson Cheung, and Stephanie Filo. Nairn-Smith previously worked on the Marvel Studios series Moon Knight and Ironheart, while Cheung previously worked on Secret Invasion (2023).

Marketing

Cox and D'Onofrio promoted the series at Disney's May 2024 upfront presentation, where the release month was announced and a first trailer was shown.

Release

Daredevil: Born Again is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in March 2025, and is expected to consist of 18 episodes divided into nine-episode halves that will be released separately. A filing for the first episode with the United States Copyright Office indicated an approximate release in January 2025. The series was originally scheduled to debut in early 2024, but was removed from Marvel Studios' release schedule in September 2023, given filming had not yet been completed amid the then-ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. It is expected to be part of Phase Five of the MCU.

References

External links

• Official website at Marvel.com
• Daredevil: Born Again at IMDb