Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, TV | Tagged: daredevil: born again

Daredevil: Born Again EP: Karen, Vanessa Play Key Roles in Season 2

Daredevil: Born Again EP Jesse Wigutow spoke with us about Foggy/Karen dynamic, Karen's & Vanessa's expanded Season 2 roles, and much more.

Jesse Wigutow has emerged as one of the biggest emerging creative forces within Disney with the positive reception of Daredevil: Born Again season one, considering the shaky behind-the-scenes production that saw a change in showrunners and additional casting, which saw holdovers from the Drew Goddard series return with Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and Ayelet Zurer reprising their roles as Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, and Vanessa Fisk. In the case of Woll and Henson, Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock would only be with them for the premiere episode before Foggy fell from Bullseye's (Wilson Bethel, another Netflix series holdover) bullet. Woll's Karen would only be involved to help bookend season one, returning to help Matt and Frank Castle/Punisher (Jon Bernthal) resist Wilson Fisk/Kingpin's (Vincent D'Onofrio) growing authoritarian rule as New York City mayor. While promoting his upcoming work on Disney's Tron: Ares, Wigutow spoke to Bleeding Cool about how fans responded to Woll and Henson's season one presence, if we'll see an increased presence from Karen in season two, and how Zurer became one of the series' biggest surprises as Vanessa, who is openly embracing her husband's empire and cruelty as the two reign over NYC.

Daredevil: Born Again EP/Writer Jesse Wigutow on Fitting Foggy-Karen Among Season One's Chaos, Where Karen Stands for Season Two, and Emergence of Vanessa Fisk.

Regarding Daredevil: Born Again, I remember how you said that there was going to be an Echo-Punisher bottle episode in season one, and I wanted to discuss some other narratives that were explored in season one. Fans were excited about Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson returning to the franchise, but they might have felt a little underwhelmed with how their presence came out. What was the fan reception about that?

In terms of reception, season one was a complicated creative process; it had a few stops, starts, and different voices in the process, all of which were very smart and impressive people who had different mandates and different shows in mind for different reasons. I'm trying to say this the right way, and ultimately, what you end up seeing is a jigsawed collage in a way of the various shows that were told within the singular season.

The pilot and the last two episodes, which were part A and part B of the finale, I think, showed a sense of singularity and an idea of what the new room of writers put together that were then brought back for season two. You're going to see in season two a little more clarity of vision, and while season one works quite well, I'm proud of the work that was done. Everyone who was there before me should feel the same way. Season two embraces the narrative that is set up in season one. You have a mayor, and it's Mayor Fisk, and we're going to live inside his city hall, his palace, and it's quite satisfying.

Can you say if we might see more of Woll's role as Karen Page expanded in season two compared to what we saw in season one?

Very much so. She plays a big part.

As far as Ayelet's role from the Netflix final season of Daredevil to Born Again season one, can you talk about how Vanessa's evolution from a more innocent bystander to fully embracing Kingpin's empire and becoming his equal in this?

We'll see Ayelet play a bigger part in season two. When we pick her up [from the end of the Netflix series], she is already in that role in [Born Again]. She's the Queenpin in [Wilson's] absence, and when he comes back, it's about how do we do this together now. How do we run this kingdom together?

Jesse, love your work, and I'm super stoked about what we're going to see in Tron: Ares and beyond. And of course, where you guys got cooking up for Daredevil in season two. I imagine there are so many different things you want to unleash on season two with all the projects and spin-offs emerging. It's easy to overthink things, right? Because I remember seeing New York Comic Con coming up and seeing that [Luke Cage star] Mike Colter is going to share the stage with Charlie, Vincent, and Krysten [Ritter], and I'm like, "Wow! Wait!" [Wigutow laughs], and it's under the radar. I'm like, "Are you telling us something here?! I don't know."

There are some fun little moments and some re-entries, but more than anything, [Daredevil: Born Again] is a big, complicated, smart New York crime and political story that has Daredevil and Kingpin pitted against each other on either side.

Tron: Ares, which stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges, comes to theaters on October 10th. Daredevil: Born Again, which also stars Margarita Levieva, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki M. James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Kamar de los Reyes, Mohan Kapur, Tony Dalton, and Krysten Ritter, will return in March 2026 with season one available on Disney+.

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