Brad Winderbaum and Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
| Photo Credit: Ruth Dhanaraj and Giovanni Rufino
Nearly 10 years after Daredevil dropped on Netflix, comes the continuation/revival, Daredevil: Born Again. Running for three seasons from 2015 to 2018, Daredevil tells the story of Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer by day and masked vigilante by night, keeping the streets of his beloved New York safe from the scum of the earth including Kingpin/Wilson Fisk.
Created by Dario Scardapane (who is also the showrunner), Matt Corman and Chris Ord, Daredevil: Born Again is the 13th series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and based on Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s eponymous comic book storyline.
All who are desperately trawling streamers for Daredevil to be up to speed for Born Again, need not fear, as the show is designed for new audiences, according to Brad Winderbaum, who executive produces alongside Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito and Sana Amanat among others.
Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Kirsten Mcduffie, ADA (Nikki M. James) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
| Photo Credit:
GIOVANNI RUFINO
Speaking on a video call from New York, Winderbaum says, “If you’ve never seen or read any Daredevil before, you can pick it up right at episode one of Daredevil: Born Again, follow the story and have a fulfilling experience.” If, however, you do know the old show, and you know Marvel, Winderbaum says, you will get a lot of references along the way. “The story is not based on those references. The backbone of the story is new.”
Daredevil Season 3 ended with Daredevil, played by Charlie Cox, defeating Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) and starting a new law firm with his friends. “A lot of time has passed since the original show,” says Winderbaum. “Life has happened behind the scenes that have changed both of them. Matt has found a balance between being Daredevil and having a thriving law firm with his two best friends, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll).”
Fisk, Winderbaum says, has gone through a spiritual awakening. “He realises he wants to be a good man and a good mayor for the city of New York and to have a legacy that outlives him. Unfortunately, both these men are lying to themselves, and those pressures are going to come to bear and explode in the show in a gigantic way.”
(L-R) Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk / Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
| Photo Credit:
Ruth Dhanaraj
Fears of the series being made milder for Disney’s family-friendly audience, can be laid to rest with the presence of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. “Daredevil: Born Again is both a character study and high-octane action,” says Winderbaum. “The violence and action are always born of character. Nothing is arbitrary. It often comes at a cost for these characters and involves an ethical decision that one or both of them has to make.”
Location counts
The Big Apple is an important character in Daredevil’s world. “Our production designer, Michael Shaw is amazing,” Winderbaum says. “Daredevil: Born Again is a show shot in New York for New York. There’s not a single green screen to create those New York backgrounds. We are on the street with New Yorkers. It’s a New York crew and it’s in the DNA of the show, just like it’s in the DNA of the comic book.
Everything is connected in the MCU and Murdock has had cameos in Spider-Man: No Way Homeand in shows that are different in tone including She-Hulkand Echo. “It’s very similar to the books where characters can intermingle and appear in each other’s storylines,” Winderbaum comments.
“When that happens, the artists and creators of those comics or shows, imbue the character with the tone of the show they’re in. So when, Murdock, appears in She-Hulk, it has the tone of She-Hulk. He becomes part of She-Hulk’s tapestry.”
Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
| Photo Credit:
GIOVANNI RUFINO
In Daredevil: Born Again, Winderbaum says, Yusuf Khan, Kamala Khan’s father, appears in an episode. “He is very much in that lens and tone. That is an intense episode, and you feel scared for the man, even though he’s the same character from Ms. Marvel.”
Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again has 18 episodes and will be aired in two parts of nine episodes each. “We were impacted by last year’s Hollywood strike, and when we looked at the material during the strike, we had to reformulate a plan. This is a good plan because it’s going to allow for multiple seasons of Daredevil to come out annually and feel like a show people can look forward to every year.”
Daredevil: Born Again drops on Jio Hotstar with a two-episode premiere on March 4, 2025 followed by weekly episode drops
Published – March 01, 2025 11:53 am IST
