MAJOR spoilers for the premiere of Daredevil: Born Again are ahead! If you are looking to see this new era of Daredevil, you can stream it with a Disney+ subscription.
As Charlie Cox said, killing off Foggy at the start of Daredevil: Born Again was a “bold move.” The death of Elden Henson’s character shocked fans immediately, and I couldn’t help but wonder why they decided to make such a big and tragic choice in the opening scenes of the show’s premiere on the 2025 TV schedule. Thankfully, the showrunner and executive producers answered that question for me.
However, that’s not all they did, they also revealed a big way Foggy’s death changed over the course of creating the show.
Why The Team Decided To Kill Off Foggy In Daredevil: Born Again
During CinemaBlend’s Daredevil: Born Again interviews, I simply had to ask everyone why it was Foggy who died. After Karen and Foggy’s return was such a big deal, it felt unfathomable that one of them died immediately. EP Brad Winderbaum told me that this wasn’t a choice they made easily, saying:
It's something that we lost a lot of sleep over. Nobody wanted to do it.
Winderbaum went on to say they realized this “had to happen.” The show is called Daredevil: Born Again. It represents a new era in Matt Murdock’s story. He explained they needed to “bring Matt down to his bare essence” for this series, and Foggy dying was a visceral way to do that.
Showrunner Dario Scardapane was on the same wavelength. When I asked him why it was Foggy who died, he explained that “every loss has a new beginning:”
I think, ultimately, it was inevitable. It's part of the character, it's part of the story. And in the Daredevil world, as fans, every loss has a new beginning. Every time he hits the ground, he gets back up, and we have to watch that.
We got to see the beginnings of this new life in the first two episodes. In the year after Foggy’s death, Karen moves away, Matt puts the suit away, and he starts a new life. According to Winderbaum, Charlie Cox’s character’s efforts to move forward after devastating loss are admirable:
His relationship, friendship, whatever it is, with Karen gets just broken with a sledgehammer. The law office closes. But you find Matt a year later, trying, I think, to approximate what Foggy wanted for him, which is actually a really beautiful thing.
However, he also noted that while Matt's new law firm and his relationship with Heather are nice, that “world is a lie.” The EP explained that the pressure that’s building will reach a head and “it’s eventually going to erupt.”
EP Sana Amanat added an interesting wrinkle to this conversation, noting that this death is possibly the worst thing that could happen to Matt. It’s his biggest fear come to life, and now the story that lies ahead will be based on how he handles it:
If you think about the old show, this was the fear, this is always the fear in Matt Murdock's life. And I think there's so much story to tell when the fear comes to life.
She’s right. Foggy’s death forces Matt to face his demons and reassess his life. In a lot of ways, he’s Born Again. And that’s why, while sad, that opening scene was perfect. However, it almost didn’t end up that way…
Foggy’s Death Almost Wasn’t Shown On Screen
While I was shocked Foggy died in Born Again, I would have been livid if it happened off-screen. If it was simply said that he had passed and we didn’t get to see Elden Henson one last time, I would have screamed. Well, that’s almost what happened, as Dario Scardapane told me:
The thing that's really wild about that is when I came in late to the process that was already in the story, but it had happened off screen.
As you likely know, Daredevil: Born Again went through creative shifts mid-way through production, and initially, Karen and Foggy weren’t going to be in the show. When Scardapane came on as showrunner, he needed them back, and we needed to see Matt’s best friend die:
And I was like, ‘It can't be off-screen. We have to feel this.’ And you know, there's a promise written on a napkin at the end of Season 3, and we see that promise in the beginning of this, and we take a hammer to it, and it's harsh, and it hurts. But it is also not done lightly, because that loss colors everything that goes on with Matt from here on out.
Considering Foggy’s death is the inciting incident that leads Matt down the path we see in Born Again, it was vital to witness the loss on screen. Thankfully, that happened.
It ended up making the start of this Marvel show so visceral and gut-wrenching in a beautifully tragic way, and it tossed us right back into the ruthless world of Daredevil. Now, we get to see how this loss impacts Matt as the show continues to air on Disney+ every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
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