In late 2021, three years after Netflix cancelled Daredevil, Charlie Cox reprised Matt Murdock for a Spider-Man: No Way Home cameo, then suited back as Marvel Comics’ Man Without Fear for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law the following summer. We’ll next see Cox back in the role for Echo, and that will be followed up Daredevil: Born Again, which is making major behind-the-scenes changes. The new creative team for the upcoming Marvel TV show has been revealed, and I’m especially excited for the Loki contributors who are coming aboard.
In case you missed it, earlier this month, Born Again’s team of writers and directors were fired after Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and other executives were reportedly unimpressed by what had been shot so far. THR has now heard that Dario Scardapane has been tapped to be the new showrunner, with his previous TV experience including Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Punisher, the latter of which spun out of the original Daredevil show. It was also mentioned that Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who directed three episodes in Loki Season 2, will helm the remaining episodes in Born Again’s first season.
At the time of this writing, Loki Season 2 is four episodes in, and we've seen Benson and Moorhead’s directorial work on display in the first episode, “Ouroboros,” and the fourth episode, "Heart of the TVA." That’s more than enough to increase my excitement for Daredevil: Born Again, and they’re also behind the final two episodes of Loki’s sophomore outing. Let’s also not forget that prior to the Tom Hiddleston-led show, the duo had already contributed to the MCU’s TV landscape by directing the Moon Knight episodes “Summon the Suit” and “The Tomb.” These two know their way quite well around this superhero franchise.
Before Daredevil: Born Again began its creative overhaul, the team of directors included Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Clark Johnson and David Boyd, and Chris Ord and Matt Corman were serving as the head writers. Though the latter two have left, they will be credited as executive producers, and Marvel will, as THR stated, “keep some scenes and episodes that have already been shot.” However, much of what had been envisioned for Born Again will now change, with Dario Scardapane wiring new episodes and scenes that build off what’s being kept in the final product.
It was previously said that Born Again’s first season will comprise 18 episodes, but it’s unclear if that remains the case now that this new creative team is steering the ship, or if that episode count will be reduced. As such, we also have no idea yet how many episodes Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will direct. As far as the show’s plot goes, the original version of Born Again reportedly felt more like a straightforward courtroom drama rather than a superhero show, and Matt Murdock supposedly didn’t put his costume on until the fourth episode. Now the plan is for Born Again to “harken back to the tone” of Netflix’s Daredevil with its “action and gritty violence.”
Daredevil: Born Again’s cast also includes the return of Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin (who’s previously been seen in Hawkeye and will also appear in Echo) and Jon Bernthal as The Punisher (which makes Scardapane’s involvement even more fitting), as well as newcomers like Michael Gandolfini, Margarita Levieva and Sandrine Holt. We’ll keep you apprised on more updates about the show’s progress, including when it premieres on Disney+.
