Now that Echo has had her time in the sun, Daredevil will be gearing up to make a return in his upcoming Disney+ series, Born Again. However, a few things regarding the show are bound to change, including the previously announced episode count.
Kevin Feige had earlier revealed that Daredevil: Born Again would comprise 18 episodes divided into nine-episode halves. This was back in 2022, and since then, a lot has changed – and keeps doing so as things are being finished up.
Kingpin actor Vincent D’Onofrio spoke to Comicbook.com, stating: “The amount of episodes keeps fluctuating, so I don’t really know the number that we’re at right now. But it seems like there are a few shows that could work with more episodes, then some that just need eight or 10 or six. Echo is like five.”
Echo was always meant to be a spin-off from the Clint Barton series Hawkeye, so it’s not all that surprising that it needed only five episodes. The same cannot be said for Daredevil: Born Again, a show that serves as a reboot of Netflix’s acclaimed series, Marvel’s Daredevil.
Setting up a whole new world centered around Hell’s Kitchen’s biggest characters is no easy feat. The only way Marvel Studios can accomplish this successfully is through a well-scripted story told across plenty of episodes. Thankfully, D’Onofrio and his co-star, Charlie Cox, are up to the task.
“I think this show could definitely work with more episodes, and I know that Charlie is, and I am too, happy to do that. But the number keeps fluctuating. I think you’re gonna have to wait for an official announcement, because I don’t want to say a number that we’re going to do because I’m not even quite sure what it is.”
Feige is not taking chances – following a first look at early footage of the show, the Marvel Studios boss was not pleased with what he saw, resulting in a creative overhaul of the project, including the firing of head writers and several directors. Dario Scardapane, who served as a writer on Netflix’s Daredevil spin-off series The Punisher, is now working on the project as the showrunner.
Besides Cox and D’Onofrio, Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as Frank Castle/Punisher alongside Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson, who will return as Karen Page and Foggy Nelson, respectively. Those familiar with the Netflix Daredevil series will attest that one of the show’s greatest strengths lies in its brilliant character development.
The first season takes its sweet time introducing viewers to Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer by day and a vigilante by night. All the people who revolve around him are given ample screen time to flesh out their characters, without it coming at the expense of the main storyline.
By the time we get to see Wilson Fisk reveal his true colors as the underworld crime lord, Kingpin, viewers already have a good idea of what life looks like living in Hell’s Kitchen – and the name is more than apt.
Frank Castle made his explosive debut in Season 2, turning Hell’s Kitchen upside down with his raw, unbridled quest for revenge. His violent yet effective modus operandi leads Daredevil to question everything he’s done so far in his fight against crime. By confronting The Punisher, Daredevil must first confront himself and objectively seek answers to questions he has never asked himself before.
In the final season, everything comes full circle when Kingpin is released from prison, and Daredevil is forced to make a choice between hiding as a blind lawyer or taking on the responsibility to protect Hell’s Kitchen as a masked vigilante.
Very few shows, especially those in the superhero genre, have come even close to depicting the nuances of living a double life. Marvel’s Daredevil flirts between good and evil in a fashion that Daredevil: Born Again can only hope to live up to.
My point here is that the only way Daredevil: Born Again can match its predecessor, and hopefully surpass it, is with a multiple-episode series that takes the time to flesh out its characters. You can definitely do more with less, but in this case, an argument for more bears more merit.
Daredevil: Born Again is expected to premiere on Disney+ next year under the new Marvel Studios’ banner, Marvel Spotlight.
