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".[1]
Charlie Cox as
Matt Murdock / Daredevil: A blind lawyer from
Hell's Kitchen, New York, who leads a double life as a masked vigilante.[2] 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".[3] 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.[4]
Vincent D'Onofrio as
Wilson Fisk / Kingpin: A powerful businessman and
crime lord,[2] who is running for mayor of New York City.[5][6] 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.[7]
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.[16][17]
Daredevil, from
Marvel Television and
ABC Studios, premiered on
Netflix in April 2015,[31] 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+.[32] However, The Hollywood Reporter felt this was unlikely,[33] 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.[34]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.[35]Hulu's senior vice president of originals, Craig Erwich, said his streaming service was also open to reviving the series.[36]
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.[37]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.[38] In June 2020, Cox was contacted by
Marvel Studios president
Kevin Feige about reprising his role for Marvel Studios'
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) productions,[39] with Feige confirming in December 2021 that Cox would reprise the role for Marvel Studios.[3][40] 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).[41]Daredevil was moved from Netflix to Disney+ in March 2022 after Netflix's license for the series ended and Disney regained the rights.[42][43][44]
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.[45] 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.[46] 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.[2][45][46] He described the storyline as "kind of a PG comic" and a guide for how the series could work with that rating.[46]
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.[47][48][49] 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.[50]The Hollywood Reporter said it was the first of the Marvel Netflix series to "get a new but continued series",[51] later stating it would "technically be its fourth season".[52]Deadline Hollywood also described it as a fourth season.[53] 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.[54] 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.[3] 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.[55] 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."[56]
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.[20] 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.[57]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.[28][22]David Boyd was also set to direct.[29]
Creative overhaul
By late September 2023, after six of the first season's 18 episodes had been filmed,[58][15] 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.[58] Marvel planned to retain some elements that had been shot, add new
serialized elements, and move closer to the tone of the Netflix series.[58][30] Corman and Ord were expected to still be credited as executive producers.[58]
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.[30] This came after Marvel changed its approach to television production to have more traditional showrunners rather than head writers.[58] 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.[30] 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".[59] 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.[60] 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".[61]
Ahead of filming restarting in January 2024, Born Again was reported to have a lower episode count than the 18 episodes originally announced,[62] 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.[26] D'Onofrio was unsure how many episodes Marvel Studios were now looking to create and said the number kept "fluctuating".[63] By that time, Scardapane had written a new pilot episode and two additional episodes for the first half of the series.[26] Cox confirmed in May 2024 that nine episodes had been filmed.[64] Executive producers include Marvel Studios' Feige,
Louis D'Esposito, Gary, and
Sana Amanat,[49][65][29] alongside Corman and Ord.[50][58] Rudd Simmons serves as a producer.[66] It is being released under Marvel Studios' "Marvel Television" label.[67]
Writing
Original writers for the series included
Grainne Godfree, Jill Blankenship,[68] Aisha Porter-Christie,
David Feige, Devon Kliger, Thomas Wong, Zachary Reiter,[69] and Molly Nussbaum.[70] 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.[71] 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.[72] The series was described as a legal
procedural.[58]
Following the series' creative overhaul, serialized elements were set to be added to the episodes.[30] D'Onofrio said the Marvel Studios series Echo would lead into the events of Born Again,[73] 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.[74] 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.[75] 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.[5][6]
Casting
In June 2022, Variety reported that Cox and D'Onofrio were expected to return for the series.[76] Their casting was confirmed a month later at San Diego Comic-Con.[2] 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.[3] In December,
Michael Gandolfini,[77]Margarita Levieva, and
Sandrine Holt were cast in major roles.[11]Deadline Hollywood reported that Gandolfini was portraying "an ambitious guy from
Staten Island" named Liam,[77] and that Levieva and Holt were playing love interests for Cox and D'Onofrio;[11] Holt was cast as
Vanessa Marianna-Fisk,[20] replacing
Ayelet Zurer from the original series.[19]
Nikki M. James joined the cast by January 2023.[78] In March,
Jon Bernthal was revealed to be reprising his role of
Frank Castle / Punisher from Daredevil and The Punisher in Born Again.[8][79] 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.[8]Michael Gaston and Arty Froushan were also part of the cast,[20][80] with Froushan in a major role that was reported to be an associate of Fisk's named Harry.[80] Set photos the following month indicated that
Harris Yulin was part of the cast.[24] Clark Johnson was revealed to be cast in a recurring role in May, reported to be named Cherry,[22] with Marc Geller also joining the cast.[23] 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.[1][81]
By January 2024, following the creative overhaul, Woll and Henson were set to reprise their roles as Page and Nelson,[15][26] and
Wilson Bethel was set to reprise his role as
Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter from Daredevil,[16] reportedly for three episodes.[17] It was initially unclear if any of the new Born Again cast members would be retained,[81] though Levieva,[10] Gandolfini,[12] and Froushan were soon reaffirmed to be part of the cast through set photos.[14] In February, Walton's character was reported to have a connection to one from the Netflix series.[13] Set photos reaffirmed Bernthal's inclusion that April, while also revealing that Jeremy Earl had been cast as Cole North.[9][18]Lou Taylor Pucci also joined the cast,[21] and set photos revealed that Zurer would now be reprising her role as Marianna-Fisk for the series.[19]
Design
Emily Gunshor serves as the costume designer for the series,[82] while Michael Shaw serves as the production designer.[83]
Soundstage work occurred at
Silvercup Studios East in
Queens.[95] 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.[95] 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.[84] Additional filming shut downs because of picketing occurred in early-to-mid June at Silvercup East,[96][97] before production was suspended until after the strike's conclusion on June 14.[85] Filming was originally expected to last for eight months.[95]
Following the series' creative overhaul, Benson and Moorhead were set to direct the new episodes,[30] 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,[62] with Spera serving as cinematographer on the new pilot episode.[25] Set photos at the end of the month saw Cox, Henson, and Woll filming scenes,[98] as well as a person in a costume resembling the character
White Tiger.[99] Set
graffiti of Fisk was attributed to the artist Muse, indicating the character
Muse could be featured in the series.[100] In early April 2024, Bernthal and Cox filmed scenes in Brooklyn,[9] ahead of a filming
wrap party on April 5.[101] Zurer and D'Onofrio filmed scenes in New York shortly after the wrap party.[102] In mid-May, Cox and D'Onofrio said filming had been completed three or four weeks earlier, and nine episodes had been filmed.[64][103]
Editing
Editors for the series include Cedric Nairn-Smith,[29] Melissa Lawson Cheung,[104] and Stephanie Filo.[105] Nairn-Smith previously worked on the Marvel Studios series Moon Knight and Ironheart,[29] while Cheung previously worked on Secret Invasion (2023).[104]
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.[106][107]
Release
Daredevil: Born Again is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in March 2025,[27] and is expected to consist of 18 episodes divided into nine-episode halves that will be released separately.[26] A filing for the first episode with the United States Copyright Office indicated an approximate release in January 2025.[1] The series was originally scheduled to debut in early 2024,[54] 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.[108] It is expected to be part of
Phase Five of the MCU.[54]