Daredevil has always been synonymous with intense action, brutal hand-to-hand combat, and a darker tone that sets it apart from many other Marvel properties. With Daredevil: Born Again shifting from Netflix to Disney+, concerns naturally arose about whether the show’s signature grit would be toned down. However, recent statements from those involved suggest that not only will the series maintain its raw intensity, but it may even take things further than before.
Showrunner Dario Scardapane, who previously worked on The Punisher, addressed these concerns in an interview with Empire, “The level of violence is way up there for a Marvel/Disney show. I don’t think there’s anything else even in the ballpark. There’s a moment in this that is just absolutely batshit, and way past anything Netflix ever did.”
Much of this heightened intensity will come from the ongoing conflict between Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Scardapane emphasised how their relationship has evolved in this new iteration, “This dynamic is way more tense. There’s one scene between them in the first episode that lays it all out. Then we spend the next eight episodes throwing rocks at it,” he explained. Avoiding the formulaic cycle of fights that end with Fisk behind bars, the new series aims to explore their rivalry in a more unpredictable way.
D’Onofrio, who has embodied Kingpin with terrifying presence since Daredevil’s debut, echoed this sentiment. “We’ve gone further in the darkness, the action, the nastiness,” he said, hinting that the stakes will be even higher this time around. This direction aligns with what Cox has previously stated about the new series. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he acknowledged the show’s unique appeal to a mature audience,“Vincent and I both felt like if you lose that, you are at risk of losing the identity of our show. So we really pushed for the show to remain geared towards an older audience and not dumbed down to kind of capture a wider net of people. I think in some ways it’s even darker than a lot of the stuff we’ve done in the past.”
The return of Daredevil has been highly anticipated since its abrupt cancellation on Netflix, and fans have been eager to see if Marvel Studios would stay true to the show’s raw and uncompromising nature. With Scardapane, Cox, and D’Onofrio all reinforcing that this new chapter will be just as brutal — if not more so — excitement continues to build.
Beyond Cox and D’Onofrio, Daredevil: Born Again brings back other familiar faces, including Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, and Wilson Bethel as Bullseye. The expanded cast, combined with an 18-episode run, suggests a deeper exploration of Murdock’s world and the figures who shape it.
With a 4 March premiere date on Disney+, the countdown has begun for Daredevil: Born Again.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she’s not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Sylus from Love and Deepspace.
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