I still remember the heartbreak when Daredevil got canceled on Netflix. No other show came close to filling the void I felt after watching the epic hallway fight, the stunning courtroom drama, and the deep, satisfying conversations between Matt Murdock and Father Paul Lantom. But when Daredevil: Born Again was announced, hope was restored! The only problem? It took forever to premiere.
Now we finally know why. Well, Marvel Studios wasn’t just figuring out the story—they were apparently debating whether the new show should connect to the original Netflix series at all. According to Vincent D’Onofrio, some returning actors weren’t even supposed to be part of Born Again, until Marvel had a change of heart. And I couldn’t be happier about it, because the Disney show without Matt Murdock’s ride-or-dies would have been a crime against Charlie Cox’s legacy.
Vincent D’Onofrio reflected on Marvel’s alternate plan for Daredevil: Born Again
I don’t know about you, but when Marvel announced Daredevil: Born Again, I was ready to throw my billy clubs in celebration. After all, Matt Murdock was finally returning after years of waiting. But little did we know, behind the scenes, Marvel Studios was in a dilemma—should the new iteration connect to Netflix’s Daredevil or start fresh?
Vincent D’Onofrio, the Kingpin himself, spilled the tea in an interview with IGN, prior to the Disney premiere of Daredevil: Born Again. D’Onofrio mentioned how some actors from the original series weren’t initially supposed to return. Imagine that—no Foggy, no Karen, just Matt wandering Hell’s Kitchen alone like it’s a depressing indie film.
It was a straight-up ‘Hey, forget what you just saw, this is what we’re doing’ that was tough for me to swallow and we felt emotional about not having the others back. Cause our success in that show, we believe is not just because of us and the writing, we believe it’s because of the whole cast.
The Kingpin star admitted that Marvel initially planned to treat Daredevil: Born Again like a brand-new show, as if the Netflix version never happened. Thankfully, someone in the studio must have realized that you can’t just erase the history that gave us one of the greatest superhero performances ever. So, much like Vincent D’Onofrio, even I’m grateful to Marvel.
The way that we finally ended up doing it, worked. It worked really well. It needed the connection to the Netflix show. It needed the other characters to come back. Everybody needed all the familiar faces… you know Elden and Deborah, those characters are theirs now. You know, nobody will ever play those characters as well as they did.
I agree with Vincent D’Onofrio, because certainly without Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson and Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page, Daredevil: Born Again would have been an epic disaster—a bland show. Thankfully, Marvel changed its mind and allowed the new series to have stronger ties to its roots.
I’m convinced the alternate plan would have ruined Charlie Cox’s legacy
Now, moving on, let’s dissect why the alternate plan might have ruined the show as well as Charlie Cox‘s legacy. Well, because when Cox donned the role of Matt Murdock, he literally transformed into the comic character. From the tortured soul beneath the mask to the charming yet brooding lawyer, Cox gave Daredevil the depth it deserved. But he couldn’t have done that without the other characters in the show—because it’s not a one-man series.
Think about it. Daredevil is more than just a guy in a red suit flipping off rooftops—I mean, that was some epic cool stuff—but he is more than just his heroic stunts. It’s about the relationships he had with each character, the struggles he witnessed, and the emotional weight of Matt Murdock’s choices. So, erasing that history would’ve made Daredevil: Born Again feel hollow—like a knockoff version of something we already loved.
It’s like if Breaking Bad had suddenly decided Jesse Pinkman never existed, or if Christopher Nolan had suddenly tried recasting Alfred in The Dark Knight Rises. That’s the kind of blunder we almost got with Daredevil: Born Again. The chemistry between all of the characters tied to Matt isn’t just a bonus—it’s the soul of the show. Without it, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil would’ve felt disconnected, like a reboot rather than a continuation of a beloved character’s journey.
Daredevil: Born Again is available on Disney+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
