A lot of time has passed since we last saw The Man Without Fear headline his very own Marvel Television series and resume his escapades as the devil of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, and now we will see a long awaited continuation take place as Marvel Studios brings back Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, and the rest of the cast continue their stories with the new revival series “Daredevil: Born Again” – which begins streaming on Disney + this coming March 5 with a two episode premiere that promises to be both an evolution and continuation of the original series.
First airing in 2015, Daredevil was the series that began the “Marvel Netflix” era of Marvel shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (in small yet very influential ways). Focusing on a blind lawyer named Matt Murdock who through an accident in childhood is blinded yet gifted with enhanced senses, he administers vigilante justice against those who prey on the weak and innocent in his city. The original series was a critical and smash hit – running for three seasons and helping launch several other spin-off shows for Netflix under the Marvel Televsion banner that included Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. Ultimately this led to a team-up show called The Defenders – with Daredevil teaming up with the other street level heroes to form an “Avengers” style group that took on superpowered ninja assassins who were attacking New York City.
After taking a hiatus following the acquisition of the Marvel Netflix shows by Disney +, Daredevil: Born Again will continue the saga of the vigilante hero and his world as part of Phase Five of the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio of course return to their respective roles as Matt Murdock/ Daredevil and Wilson Fisk/ The Kingpin, headlining the new series alongside Deborah Ann Wolf, Elden Henson, and even Jon Bernthal returning to their previous supporting roles as Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, and Frank Castle/ The Punisher. The first season consists of nine episodes, with a second season announced and scheduled for release in 2026.
Thanks to Marvel Philippines, Ardent Communications, and Disney Philippines, I was invited alongside other members of the global press and media to participate in the virtual press junket and press conference for Daredevil: Born Again, as well as getting a chance to watch the first two episodes of the highly anticipated series. Without giving away details or saying anything to spoil things – it is absolutely wild and the first episode will completely blow your expectations away… PERIOD. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio slip back comfortably into their roles as Matt and Fisk respectively, while also undergoing significant changes to their status quos that lead them on a path of redemption and eventual confrontation as both their worlds clash once more.
In the virtual press junket, I was able to briefly chat with showrunner David Scardapane and executive producer Sana Amanat – both of whom have worked on previous Marvel Studios projects and who are very passionate about bringing Daredevil back to the small screen and integrating him back into the MCU as a force to be reckoned with. As there were so many other outlets and media personnel lining up to interview these guys, I only had time for one single question (while also getting a chance to briefly geek out and show my Marvel Legends figures haha) – which sets up expectations and what fans can look forward to with the upcoming new series.
Q: In bringing Daredevil “back to life” for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, how was it reimagined, what did you want to change up, and what did you want to deliver in this show that differentiates it from the previous series?
Dario: As I kinda said before and I feel really strongl, there wasn’t a lot of change. There was more of “evolution”. These were characters that landed in a very specific place at the end of Season 3 of the earlier show, and now it’s seven years later. And that evolution where they all kind of come to, and the new challenges and when you attain your dream – what happens next?
And then there’s kind of a feeling of what we get to do. We have more resources now. There are things that we can do in television and streaming that we couldn’t do cost wise with that show. We get to do bigger, crazier, more involved action sequences, and we get to tell a wider range of story simply just because of how the business has evolved. We have to stay true to those characters but also move along our timeframDare that’s seven years down the road. Bigger challenges, a different New York! New York’s changed in that time too.
Sana: Yeah I think for better or for worse everyone’s older *chuckles*. Like we’ve all grown, and so what are the challenges and I think that’s what’s so interesting to me as a fan and as a storyteller – who are these characters now? So I would never say that it’s different – it’s just moving forward to a very specific way to the time that we’re in.
You know I loved everything about the previous iteration of the show. It was the first of so many, and this is sort of an expansion that addresses the weight of their past. You know who they were in comparison to who they are now. I think that is an interesting thing for us to study both obviously from the perspective of fans but also from the perspective of looking at these character for who they are.
Dario: Actually thought of a specific answer to your question – everything that happened to them in the previous show happened to them. We’re not reimagining that. All the stuff the they went through as characters happened, and we carry the ripples and the threads, the grudges, and the joys forward. I mean those relationships are so incredibly established that you can’t rejigger them.
While the interview was brief and short lived, I did get to hear more from the Dario and the rest of the creative forces behind the show as well as stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio in the virtual press conference the following day. Without relaying any hints or spoilers to save the surprises for the show’s debut in a few days, everyone gave some general answers and conveyed their excitement for fans to see the return of Matt Murdock, Wilson Fisk, and the rest of the characters as the entire landscape has changed for them as well as for New York City.
Everyone chimed in that Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk are trying to live in the daylight. You can’t put these two together given their history, yet here they are and they’re trying to move forward and trust each other. Vincent has stated that Wilson Fisk is on a mission to turn over a new leaf, while Charlie has teased that Born Again is not a direct adaptation of the graphic novel – but it honors it and is relatable, with Matt trying to find the best version of himself after going through a significant event. Many changes and trauma force their characters to evolve and move through a different direction, while ironically leading these two very different men to clash with one another as it causes a domino effect that affects everyone around them and with consequences to follow. Dario and the showrunners promise that Born Again will be a mixture of heart and muscle, high octane action, depth of character, and an evolution of the Netflix series everyone knows and loves.
Daredevil: Born Again will start streaming exclusively on Disney + starting March 5 with a two episode premiere, with new episodes airing every Tuesdays on the streaming service.
