A new season of the hit Netflix show Daredevil is something fans -- like the titular character -- were never planning to see. But thanks to a call from Marvel's Kevin Feige back in 2020, the Hell's Kitchen hero got worked back into the MCU proper, with a new season of Daredevil coming to Disney+ in March in the form of Daredevil: Born Again.
And in a new interview, series star Charlie Cox chatted with Entertainment Weekly about returning to the character and what a surprise it was to see the show get a new life on a different platform:
"I never thought it would be a TV show again. I just assumed that we'd done that, so maybe it would be something else. So I was shocked when they told me in 2022 that we were going to do a show, but I was also thrilled. It's such a great medium for this character. There is so much story left to tell. So the more time we have to do that, the better!"
A major concern for the stars and creatives behind the original series was just how Daredevil's dark and edgy tone would play over on the more wholesome Disney streaming platform. Netflix feels like the kid in your neighborhood with a rat-tail and a dirt bike, while Disney is the one who makes you wash your hands to play with their toys.
Related 'Daredevil' Star Charlie Cox Reveals How 'Born Again' Continues the Series
The Disney+ series is a "continuation," not a reboot.
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Though Disney wanted to focus on more family-friendly programming, it looks like the team behind Daredevil: Born Again got the creative freedom to make the series more sinister. Cox remarked:
The thing that we kept talking about was, this show has had the success that it's had and has appealed to a very specific demographic because it's one of the few superhero shows that is so dark and sinister at times. Vincent and I both felt like if you lose that, you are at risk of losing the identity of our show. So we really pushed for the show to remain geared towards an older audience and not dumbed down to kind of capture a wider net of people. I think in some ways it's even darker than a lot of the stuff we've done in the past."
'Daredevil' Got Crushed Under Too Much Netflix Growth
Daredevil's first run came of age during Netflix's spend-money-to-make-money free-for-all. With the critical praise and viewership success of the man without fear, came a cavalcade of minor Marvel shows in the Defenders lineup, like Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and The Punisher. It's not surprising that Netflix was trying to build their own darker MCU sandbox during the peak of Marvel's big screen success. Sadly, the streaming model couldn't justify the balance sheet for a swath of shows that were very expensive to produce -- especially when you have to share a cut with the mouse who owns the IP. And so a great show was nearly cast into the dustbin of history until some six years later -- a nearly unheard of resurrection timeline.
Fans will be glad to know that Daredevil: Born Again is getting the show's stellar cast back together with Jon Bernthal as The Punisher, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, and Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson all slated to return as well. The show premieres Tuesday, March 4, on Disney+.
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Daredevil: Born Again ActionDramaSuperhero
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.
Main Genre Action Cast Charlie Cox , Vincent D'Onofrio Release Date Franchise(s) Marvel Franchise Studio Disney+, Marvel Studios Streaming Service(s) Disney+ Expand