While the Daredevil: Born Again series reboot is still in production, it is going back to the drawing board. News broke out that the lead writers have been fired and the directors have been released.
After the middling response to Marvel Studios’ Phase 4, the Phase 5 projects have yet to show that it’s moving the needle back to the heights the MCU franchise enjoyed prior.
And while Loki has produced some positive buzz, it remains the only MCU Disney+ production to receive a second season. And it looks like Marvel Studios isn’t taking any chances with the Daredevil reboot.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to cover the big shake-up, and other entertainment outlets soon followed. Industry insiders and observers have been abuzz with the implications, given how far into the production Daredevil: Born Again is already in.
Born Again! Marvel has let go of writers and directors of its #Daredevil show after being less than enthused by what had been shot so far. (The hero doesn’t even show up in costume until the episode 4!) The show will now undergo a creative reboot: https://t.co/MsE213SVph pic.twitter.com/HMqyZohuAo
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 11, 2023
According to reports, Marvel Studios chief and head creative officer Kevin Feige was not happy with the results of the early footage. Targeted for an 18-episode season, the apparent assessment of the production footage was that it just was not working as intended. Allegedly, Cox did not even suit up as Daredevil until the fourth episode of Daredevil: Born Again.
The decision was made in September to “quietly let go” of head writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman, as well as the other directors initially lined up for the later episodes.
Marvel Studios has made some BIG changes following internal criticism on their Disney Plus shows:
• Fired all the writers & directors of ‘DAREDEVIL BORN AGAIN’ & will start over from scratch
• Will now focus on hiring showrunners that write pilots & show bibles
• Will… pic.twitter.com/KQ1VkU05sx
— Matt Ramos (@therealsupes) October 11, 2023
This is not the first time the Daredevil: Born Again production has been delayed. The writer’s strike that began June of this year halted the development. And this was further compounded with the actors’ strike shortly thereafter.
The original Daredevil series that aired on Netflix is considered by many fans to be one of the best spinoffs of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The series did more than introduce Charlie Cox as blind lawyer Matt Murdock and Daredevil, the Man Without Fear. It also brought comic accurate depictions of Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), Elektra (Elodie Yung), Stick (Scott Glenn), Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall), and Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio).
The first and second season of Daredevil eventually led to other shows such as Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, and The Defenders, carving out the grittier corner of the MCU.
However, Disney ended its partnership with Netflix to establish its own streaming service. This came with the unfortunate consequence of canceling the Netflix MCU projects. Although the last to be produced and air on Netflix was The Punisher’s second season in 2019, Daredevil ended with its third season in late 2018.
It would be a couple of years later before confirmation that Charlie Cox would be coming back to a new series in the MCU proper. His cameo in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home was the first official appearance of the actor.
This would later lead to D’Onofrio’s return as The Kingpin in the Hawkeye mini-series and Cox’s guest appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law in 2022. But fans took notice that the portrayals and looks of these versions of Murdock and Fisk were different than their Netflix depictions, leading to mixed feelings about how the development of the new Daredevil: Born Again was coming along.
What do you think of this massive shake-up of the Daredevil: Born Again production? Will this also mean Charlie Cox’s Daredevil suit will be changed from how it was redesigned in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law?
While the Daredevil reboot for the Disney+ streaming service is going back to the drawing board, fans of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock won’t have to wait that long to see him again. Another Marvel Studios series, Echo, will reportedly include appearances of both Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk.
Starring Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo, the Marvel series is set to begin airing on November 29, 2023. Aside from Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, Echo’s cast will include Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Graham Greene, Cody Lightning, Devery Jacobs, and Zahn McClarnon.
