Moon Knight and Loki directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead helmed the first, eighth, and ninth episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, all three of which were written and produced post-creative overhaul.
In the closing moments of the season 1 finale, Matt Murdock embraces his Daredevil persona and assembles some key allies in Josie's Bar to take the fight back to Mayor Wilson Fisk. However, none of them are Defenders or superheroes, leaving fans to question why the Man Without Fear wouldn't seek out help from his fellow vigilantes.
Talking to Phase Hero, Benson explained why the decision was made not to bring back Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist for Daredevil: Born Again's final scene. Ultimately, it boiled down to not making things too easy for Matt heading into season 2.
"The dramatic beauty and also just the beauty of the tragedy of the season, and the oddly emotionally satisfying thing about that conclusion, is that the good guys lost. Matt Murdock lost. Fisk won. But in those final moments, you understand just enough that despite the fact...the only one in that room with a costume is [Daredevil]. There's something beautiful about them being, 'Yeah, we lost. There's not a lot of hope, but we're going to have the grit to say, 'F*** it,' and keep going.' There's something so satisfying about that."
"If you had had a bunch of other superheroes show up, it would almost give too much hope. It's no longer about the grit and the uncertainty and just going for it and doing it even though you're probably going to lose. That's a cool ending. That's heroic. It's just him and these people. Humans. They're going to keep going because they're going to do what's right."
Moorhead then chimed in to tease Daredevil: Born Again season 2. He started by sharing where we'll find Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk now that their masks have come off and they've embraced being Daredevil and the Kingpin of Crime, respectively.
"They've both pulled off their masks. 'I am Daredevil, I am Kingpin.' We're just going to be those things. So, as we begin season 2, we get to see what that's like as they feel fully self-actualised. They're stretching and at one with their skin. Matt is probably at his happiest being able to wail on Fisk's bad guys. When he doesn't have to hold back and play within the system. He's happy, and that's dark. It's a darkness and a sickness."
"We're not starting season 2 with everything in its right place. Matt being Daredevil all day, every day is not going to work. And Mayor Kingpin being a tyrant all the time isn't going to work either...they're never going to be satisfied, even though they're in opposite places to where they started season 1."
Something you might have noticed throughout the season is that Mayor Fisk's size has increased from episode to episode. By the time the finale rolls around, the villain is far more in line with the Kingpin from the comics and proves it by crushing someone's head.
Moorhead explained, "What's really important is he's eating really lightly in order to become Mayor, but once he becomes Mayor...we used to have a line in episode one when he's about to announce his candidacy for Mayor. He says, 'It's time.' But we did a take where he said, 'It's time to grow.'"
"We meant that to have a double meaning where he grows outside of his criminal enterprise, but he meant it literally. He needs to grow like an amoeba, absorbing and absorbing and getting larger like The Blob," the filmmaker added. "One thing that was important was when we learned about Adam in his dungeon, that's where he goes to eat and grow. It's where he goes to let his id out."
We'll likely never know what the plan was for Daredevil: Born Again before the creative overhaul, though we know characters like Bullseye and Karen Page, for example, weren't set to return. Both now look set to be key players in season 2.
As for the Defenders, it seems likely that Krysten Ritter will reprise her role as Jessica Jones. We wouldn't bank on seeing Luke Cage and Iron Fist, but Elektra's return is surely a priority.
A new Daredevil: Born Again poster has also been released, which you can check out below.