During 2023's Hollywood strikes, Marvel Studios parted ways with original Daredevil: Born Again showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord and decided to creatively overhaul the series.
We're unlikely to ever know how much really changed, though it's previously been reported that much of the premiere was reworked before a new two-episode finale was written and shot.
Talking to Collider, new showrunner Dario Scardapane (The Punisher) and executive producer Sana Amanat addressed the changes and specified exactly how much new material was added to what had already been completed. Judging by these remarks, much of what Corman and Ord wrote for Daredevil: Born Again remained.
"Quite a bit lived. The thing is, and I think Sana can speak to this, they had that time during the strike to take a look at what they had, and those six episodes were super solid - I saw them way later," Scardapane explained. "They were super solid, but the issue was bringing up the themes and feelings that we loved from the old show and context."
"I'll say that over and over again. That first episode is the one that takes us into the run, and we needed to have those first 15 minutes of that first episode to set the stage. What we ended up doing was the amount of additional material was essentially three episodes worth, and then quite a bit of interstitial material inside the body of the middle six."
"I feel like it was mostly enhancement, and it was really bringing up the stuff that we loved a little more," he continued. "Fisk and Matt, a little more action, pathos. The show was there. It wanted to be something; we just had to do some things to draw that out."
So, three new episodes and a reworking of the six that had been shot and were nearly finished. Season 2 recently began production and we'd imagine that feeling vastly different, especially as Scardapane is the sole showrunner in charge and not forced to work with any pre-existing footage.
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who directed the new episodes, are also expected to be a big part of the show's return next year.
Amanat added, "And again, credit to Matt Corman and Chris Ord. Those writers, some of which stayed on with us in this new writers’ room, really gave us, also, a naturalistic and real-world New York, as well, and that's really what we wanted to build upon. But yes, like Dario said, it was elements where we wanted to pull on threads."
"We wanted to make it a bit darker and more intense and offer that connective tissue that just wasn't quite there before, but that connective tissue to the previous show, of course, with our returning characters and telling the drama of who they are, almost seven to eight to 10 years later," she concluded.
The early buzz surrounding Daredevil: Born Again is overwhelmingly positive, so whatever Scardapane did has paid off. The review embargo lifts tomorrow night, so be sure to check back here then for our verdict on the Daredevil revival.
Watch a new TV spot for Daredevil: Born Again in the X post below.
In Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer with heightened abilities is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.
The series also stars Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, with Ayelet Zurer and Jon Bernthal. Dario Scardapane is showrunner.
Episodes are directed by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and David Boyd; and executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Sana Amanat, Chris Gary, Dario Scardapane, Christopher Ord & Matthew Corman, and Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead.
Daredevil: Born Again premieres with two episodes on Disney+ on March 4, 2025.