Was Jon Bernthal responsible for the creative overhaul? Charlie Cox reveals how his co-star caused major changes for Daredevil: Born Again.
One of the most shocking decisions made in superhero media in recent years was the choice to completely overhaul the direction of Daredevil: Born Again after a majority of season 1 was already filmed. While people like Jon Bernthal, Wilson Bethel, and Deborah Ann Woll were always set to return alongside Charlie Cox, it seems as though their roles were greatly expanded during the project's reshoots.
There's been a lot of questions over what exactly inspired the creative overhaul of Daredevil: Born Again. Some cite poor pacing, others a lack of the original cast. However, it seems that it all came down to a single scene. During a recent conversation with Screenrant, Charlie Cox revealed that ti was his first scene alongside Jon Bernthal that changed how the executives saw the show.
"I don't know if it's true but we shot [the scene with Jon Bernthal] the last day before the strikes. So after that the next day we didn't show up to work...but what I heard was when they were then looking at the show and editing it and putting it together, that scene made it by one day."
"And they showed that scene to some of the high-ups at Disney and Marvel, and they saw that scene and they were like, 'This is great. This is the show we want to make.' And that was part of the narrative behind shifting direction and continuing what we had done previously, which is, you know, tell a kind of very dark, sinister version of Daredevil."
However, it seems it wasn't just Jon Bernthal's performance that changed the fate of Daredevil: Born Again. Continuing on about the scene, Charlie Cox revealed that Bernthal actually had a hand on writing the interactions between Daredevil and the Punisher- which directly led to the project getting a creative overhaul.
"Jon [Bernthal] wrote most of that scene as well. So we are very grateful to him for potentially leading us back on track."
Given how dedicated Jon Bernthal has been to the Punisher, it's not shocking that he would've had a hand on how the character was portrayed in Daredevil: Born Again. It's unclear what future the character has in the series, especially with his own special presentation coming down the pipeline. Though one thing is for certain: the show would not be the same without him.
Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney Plus, with season 2 set to release in March 2026. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!