Daredevil: Born Again wasn't always going to be so closely linked to Netflix's Daredevil. However, as part of the show's creative overhaul, Marvel Studios realised that it was something fans wanted and proceeded to bring back several familiar actors and characters.
We don't expect the revival to be too beholden to what's come before and, in an interview with SFX, showrunner Dario Scardapane admitted there will be some very specific alterations.
"There is more fun in the moments with these characters and a lot less navel-gazing than before," he said of how Daredevil: Born Again compares to its predecessor. "The earlier show, at its best, was fantastic. At its worst, it was two characters in a room talking about what a hero is. I felt that had been done."
"I'm not taking swipes," Scardapane added. "I just didn't want to hear characters grousing about their lot in life. I wanted to see them doing things."
There were some great examples of that in Daredevil - who could ever forget the Man Without Fear's rooftop conversation with The Punisher? - but he's not wrong that, on occasion, those moments were among the show's weakest.
Reflecting on his time serving as The Punisher's showrunner, Scardapane recalls that, "One of our edicts was longer scenes. You had these long five-page scenes of characters hashing it out in order to make space between these massive action sequences. The way stuff has evolved since then, we're able to do big action sequences at a lot more pace."
"I really feel that Netflix's Daredevil, which I know in my blood, was much more noir, and this show is more New York crime story," he continued. "It has elements of The Sopranos and King Of New York. There's a feeling for those classic '90s crime tales."
"It has a pace and a scope that, for a lot of reasons, Netflix wasn't able to do. They were very dark, cinematically, not necessarily story-wise, although there were some dark elements. We're much darker," Scardapane promised before the inevitable comparisons to DC Studios and HBO's The Penguin came up.
"It's really strange. You work in a vacuum and then something else comes out and you go, 'Oh, wow'. I would say in many ways The Penguin is our direct competition. However, we're even more grounded, even less stylized, even more rooted in the here and now. I loved Penguin. We're a little faster, meaner, cleaner in our storytelling."
He'd later say that Daredevil: Born Again "is as far as a Disney Plus show has ever gone," and is making some bold statements and promises here about the show ahead of its debut. Still, this is everything fans want to hear so if he and Marvel Studios have got right, that's very good news for this character and his place in the MCU.
There are bound to be some fans unhappy with Scardapane's remarks about the Netflix series, though it sounds like lengthy dialogue scenes were a mandate from the old Marvel Television, likely to save money on action scenes and to pad out episodes to meet what was then Netflix's expected 50-minute-ish runtimes.
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.
Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Disney+ on March 4, 2025.