2023's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes were good news for some movies and TV shows, and bad news for others. In the case of Daredevil: Born Again, Hollywood being shut down for several months proved to be hugely beneficial for the Disney+ series.
During that downtime, Marvel Studios realised that the series wasn't working. A new showrunner was enlisted, the pilot was reshot, and a myriad of changes followed. In fact, the only instalment of the 9-episode season that was left untouched was the divisive bank heist bottle episode.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 now promises to be very interesting, as what we see won't be a mashup of ideas from different creative teams. Instead, it's 100% showrunner Dario Scardapane's baby, no bad thing when he was responsible for adding everything from Bullseye to more costumed action and that unforgettable head-crushing scene to the Daredevil revival.
Screen Rant recently caught up with Matt Murdock actor Charlie Cox, and he revealed that there's one person, in particular, who deserves much of the credit for the show's creative overhaul: The Punisher himself, Jon Bernthal.
"What I heard was when they were then looking at the show and editing it and putting it together, that scene made it by one day," he said of the heated confrontation between Matt and Frank in episode 4. "And they showed that scene to some of the high-ups at Disney and Marvel, and they were like, 'This is great. This is the show we want to make.'"
"And that was part of the narrative behind shifting direction and continuing what we had done previously, which is, you know, tell a kind of very dark, sinister version of Daredevil."
"Jon [Bernthal] wrote most of that scene as well," Cox added. "So we are very grateful to him for potentially leading us back on track."
Perhaps the biggest change made to Daredevil: Born Again during this time was that Daredevil is now considered MCU "canon." In its previous form, the series essentially ignored the Netflix series and served as a soft reboot.
As for Bernthal's Frank Castle, he'll return in The Punisher Special Presentation and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, both of which are set to be released in 2026.
In Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, 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 endeavours 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. Season 2 additions include Krysten Ritter, Matthew Lillard, Lili Taylor, and Royce Johnson. Dario Scardapane is showrunner.
"A masterpiece of epic proportions, Daredevil: Born Again delivers a powerful, unmissable take on the Man Without Fear," we said in our review. "Putting street-level heroics on the map in a way that promises to change the MCU forever, the show is sublime superhero storytelling on a whole new level."
All episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are now streaming on Disney+. Season 2 comes to the platform on March 4, 2026.