The Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again had already begun production before the WGA strike shut it down. But now that the strike is over, Disney isn’t ready to jump back into action. Realizing that “the show wasn’t working,” the studio has fired the two head writers, Chris Ord and Matt Corman, who were also set to direct, and is now seeking new writers and directors. Ord and Corman will retain executive producer credits. That will buy time, as production still can’t resume until the SAG-AFTRA strike ends. (And that just hit another wall as studios have ceased negotiations after SAG rejected their most recent offer.)
This comes on the heels of Disney’s postponing and scaling back its Marvel TV output. Some episodes have already been shot. Reportedly, some of that footage may still be used, although it will be remixed into the new episodes. (Something similar occurred with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier which had to be overhauled due to its main storyline circling around a global pandemic… until a global pandemic happened in the real world.)
Daredevil: Born Again will be the longest-running Disney+ Marvel show with 18 episodes. Reportedly, fewer than half were shot, but that was enough for the powers that be to realize that it wasn’t coming together the way they had hoped.
The character Daredevil, a.k.a. blind lawyer Matt Murdock, played by Charlie Cox, has already appeared twice in the MCU. First as only Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, then in both identities in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. His archenemy The Kingpin/Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) played a major role in Hawkeye.
Of course, both actors played the same roles in three seasons of Netflix’s Daredevil series, which is not canon with the MCU. It was previously all but confirmed that the two major supporting characters, Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), would not be part of Disney’s version.
So far, Disney’s take on Daredevil has been a much more lighthearted character than Netflix’s, which is reflected in the fact that his suit is gold, mimicking his earliest comic book depictions.
As for the Kingpin, he will resurface in Echo, another Disney+ series that was supposed to be released this year. However, after the decision to scale back, the series was pushed to January 2024. In a potentially negative sign, reportedly, Disney+ will dump this series in its entirety all in one day, something it has never done with any previous Marvel (or Star Wars) series, which seems to indicate that the studio has no faith that this program will draw a strong audience.
This overhaul of Daredevil: Born Again would indicate that Marvel Studios and Disney are shifting their focus back to quality over quantity following a string of lackluster films and TV series. So while it’s shocking that they are scrapping everything and starting over, this is probably a good thing.
What do you think?
