UPDATE We don't have any more information on Marvel's decision to end Born Again, but there are some rumored details on the mysterious "Zodiac" project circulating on social media. The source isn't the most reliable, but they have shared a few accurate scoops in the past.
"It’s an X-Files-style, episodic show that will be led by 2-3 characters new to the MCU that have potentially little to no history in the comics. It is being developed to be rated TV-MA. It is designed to fit in the background of the MCU and pick up, explore, and expand stories and characters that haven't been used for a minute, as well as introducing new corners to the universe."
Original article follows.
There were some whispers on social media today, and THR has now confirmed that Daredevil: Born Again will end after the show's upcoming third season.
The decision comes around two months after Season 3 wrapped filming, with Marvel "quietly" parting ways with showrunner Dario Scardapane, whose contract was up and was not renewed.
"The parting of ways is eyebrow-raising as it means that Scardapane is exiting the show in the middle of post-production. It is unclear who will see the show through to completion. One source said post-production is the final stages."
Though disappointing, the news isn't entirely unexpected. We had heard that Born Again would run for "at least" three seasons, but despite being very popular with fans and critics, the show was never a major ratings hit for Marvel Television, and it's now very clear that the studio is pulling back on the amount of streaming projects it puts into development.
Even so, THR also reports that there are another "three to five live-action shows in development, and sources say it just greenlit a spy thriller referred to as Zodiac."
"It is unclear to what the title refers, but the most notable Marvel comics reference is to a criminal organization headed by a villain named Scorpio that featured bad guys themed to the constellations. In the comics, it was known for going head-to-head against S.H.I.E.L.D."
Matt Murdock's Disney+ adventures may be coming to an end, but we'd be very surprised if Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio (at the very least) didn't make the jump to the big screen at some point.
Scardapane was asked if he could drop any hints about the next villain the Man Without Fear will encounter in a recent interview.
"You know, there are people who are like, 'oh God, Matt and Fisk,' but I actually feel that Matt and Fisk are getting closer and closer together as time goes by, in terms of, if you look at where they both end up at the end of season two, it’s easy to kind of start thinking about. Their battles are more revealing of who they are, and I think that they’re heading towards that set of revelations getting sorely tested, not exactly by each other."
A possible hint that Daredevil and the Kingpin will put their differences aside to battle a common enemy? This does happen in Ed Brubaker's The Devil in Cell Block-D storyline, which could mean season 3 will see a new character take up the mantle of Daredevil.
Scardapane also responded to the rumors that both Elektra (who has obviously now been confirmed) and Colleen Wing could return.
"The best way I could put this without giving too much away is that what we do when we’re in the writer’s room is we go and look at some of the iconic comic book runs. We look at a lot of the things that seem to make sense in the story that we’re moving forward, and then when the time comes to bring a character in or to add a storyline, we have our wish list. Everybody you have mentioned so far is on that wish list. There’s the stuff that I would love to do, there’s the stuff that they’re doing in the larger MCU and sometimes those align and sometimes they don’t.
The world that we’re doing with this show is very Frank Miller-esque, for lack of a better word. Chip [Zdarsky] and [Brian Michael] Bendis, those artists and writers, they have a very kind of particular tone and a particular sweet spot, and a lot of the characters that you’ve mentioned work in that sweet spot."
Across eight gripping episodes, survival, resistance and redemption collide as the battle for the soul of New York begins," reads the season 2 synopsis. "In Season 2, Mayor Wilson Fisk crushes New York City underfoot as he hunts down public enemy number one, the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante known as Daredevil. But beneath the horned mask, Matt Murdock will try to fight back from the shadows to tear down the Kingpin’s corrupt empire and redeem his home. Resist. Rebel. Rebuild."