DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN Director On How Overhaul Changed Punisher And Whether Matt Was Willing To Kill [SPOILER]

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN Director On How Overhaul Changed Punisher And Whether Matt Was Willing To Kill [SPOILER]

Daredevil: Born Again director David Boyd has shed new light on just how much the show's creative overhaul changed things and reveals whether the Man Without Fear was contemplating crossing the line...

By JoshWilding - Mar 26, 2025 02:03 PM EST
Filed Under: Daredevil

Two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again arrived on Disney+ yesterday evening, and the latter, "Excessive Force," was helmed by David Boyd. He'll be back for next week's seventh instalment and recently spoke with Phase Hero to discuss his work on the series. 

By now, you're no doubt as sick as us of hearing the words "creative overhaul," but the changes Marvel Studios made to the series continue to be a subject of great fascination to many fans. 

How much changed? What was cut? And how was the story supposed to end before a new pilot and finale were shot? We're unlikely to ever know the full answers to those questions, but Boyd did at least share some intriguing breadcrumbs. 

"I did two episodes that were based on a previous pilot that Michael Cuesta had done. My two, I think, were numbered differently. 4 and 5 or 5 and 6, I can't remember," he explained. "I did those completely, cut them all the way through and then in the three or four month interim when there were strikes and things, Marvel decided to rework it."

When a new showrunner, Dario Scardapane, was appointed to replace Matt Corman and Chris Ord, everything changed. "All the episodes that had been photographed after the original pilot had to be reworked to fit in with that pilot so I came back to do the two again, essentially [Laughs]," Boyd explained. "I would say half is the original thing and the other half is big adjustments made by the new pilot."

That included changing which episode Jon Bernthal's Punisher appeared in; while Boyd shot that intense exchange between him and Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock, it was moved back to the fourth episode, "Sic Semper Systema."

"The second time around after the Aaron and Justin pilot, we had done a scene before that with Punisher and Charlie who come together where Punsher lives. Phenomenal scene," he said. "There was quite a bit of anticipation as he got close to shooting on Daredevil. This was something special and there was a lot of wringing of hands."

"[Jon would] come in with requests and I'd say, 'Just let that guy go. If he wants to bring stuff, you can't stop it.' That scene is in a previous [episode]."

When it was put to the director that Daredevil seemed to contemplate killing Muse during their battle by choking him, Boyd confirmed that was the case and it's why the Man Without Fear lets out such a primal scream shortly after their battle concludes. 

"Oh yeah. Definitely. You're absolutely right and he's aware of it," he explained. "We did other scenes that made the cut in the first iteration that fed into that. Even though they're not aired, that also came through in those moments with the character."

Six episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are now streaming on Disney+. 

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harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 3/26/2025, 2:33 PM
who gives a sh1t about Bored Again?.... right now, they are showing chairs with names on them!!
Gambito
Gambito - 3/26/2025, 2:58 PM
That scene bugged me because of a minor bit where Matt the blind man admires Punisher’s guns even touches one knowing where they are and says “nice”
Shmokey20
Shmokey20 - 3/26/2025, 6:04 PM
@Gambito - Are you forgetting how powerful his senses are. Matt is not a regular blind guy. Matt can basically see with his powers
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 3/26/2025, 6:45 PM
@Shmokey20 - I wonder if he can see the show's Viewership
User Comment Image
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 3/27/2025, 4:30 AM
@harryba11zack - User Comment Image
Shmokey20
Shmokey20 - 3/27/2025, 6:40 AM
@harryba11zack - Why do you hate the show?
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 3/27/2025, 8:22 AM
@Shmokey20 - maybe because it p1ssed on everything that made the netflix show good.
Shmokey20
Shmokey20 - 3/27/2025, 12:29 PM
@harryba11zack - You're trippin it's a good show so far. But to each their own
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 3/26/2025, 3:08 PM
Interesting…

As frustrating as people commenting on these overhauls or reshoots is without knowing the full story , it is fascinating to gain some insight like this into the creative process atleast which tends to be fairly fluid anyway but especially in regards to this show given the circumstances.

However I am confused because if I got him correctly , it seems like Bernthal had shot the only scene we got with Frank so far before the overhaul though he’s said he walked away from the offer to come back then because he didn’t like the direction they were going with the character or that they shot that scene post overhaul but before the new pilot?.

Actually reading it back , it seems to be the latter so I answered my own question lol.

Anyway , I have liked the show so far!!.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 3/27/2025, 4:35 AM
If they could have had the majority of the show dealing with this, instead of all these side quests, it would probably be more interesting.

Just hoping season 2 doesn’t have the problems this one did. It’s hard to capture viewer attention if you start off with a whimper. Season 2 better be incredible, otherwise we’ll only see DD as a cameo character in obscure Marvel shows no one cares about (like the Young Avengers).

That said, I’m rooting for the last few eps… User Comment Image

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