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

Daredevil: Born Again "Much Darker" Than Netflix Series: Showrunner

Daredevil: Born Again Showrunner Dario Scardapane explains the key differences from the Netflix series, including a "much darker" story.

As we inch closer to the premiere of Marvel Television's Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) and Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk/Kingpin)-starring Daredevil: Born Again (and to work on the second season getting underway), Showrunner Dario Scardapane is weighing in on how the Disney+ series will differ from Netflix's series even as it moves forward with the characters that Netflix viewers knew and loved. "There is more fun in the moments with these characters and a lot less navel-gazing than before," Scardapane shared during a recent interview with SFX Magazine. "The earlier show, at its best, was fantastic. At its worst, it was two characters in a room talking about what a hero is. I felt that had been done. I'm not taking swipes. I just didn't want to hear characters grousing about their lot in life. I wanted to see them doing things."

In terms of how he approached pacing the scenes, The Punisher producer was inspired by his time on the Jon Bernthal-starring Netflix series. "One of our edicts was longer scenes. You had these long five-page scenes of characters hashing it out in order to make space between these massive action sequences. The way stuff has evolved since then, we're able to do big action sequences at a lot more pace," Scardapane explained. "I really feel that Netflix's 'Daredevil,' which I know in my blood, was much more noir, and this show is more New York crime story. It has elements of 'The Sopranos' and 'King Of New York.' There's a feeling for those classic '90s crime tales. It has a pace and a scope that, for a lot of reasons, Netflix wasn't able to do. They were very dark, cinematically, not necessarily story-wise, although there were some dark elements. We're much darker," he added.

Charlie Cox on Why Matt Murdock/Wilson Fisk Face-Offs Should Be Rare

"I believe you have to be really careful when and how you bring these two people into the same room because we have to feel like when they meet, it is an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. It has to feel like it could and will explode. The more you bring us together with no consequence, the less that illusion can maintain itself," explained Cox during an interview with EW, making the point that the face-offs matter more when they're rare. "There's actually an episode later on in the season where, in an original draft, we had a conversation, and I brought this up," Cox continued. "I said, 'I worry that if you tell the story that we can have a conversation and walk away from it at this stage, we lose a lot of stakes.' So they found a really cool way to not have us do that."

Daredevil: Born Again Overview, Preview & More!

During New York Comic Con (NYCC) in October 2024, Cox and D'Onofrio "crashed a Marvel panel to screen a look at the series and confirm that it would be hitting Disney+ in March 2025. Speaking with Collider, the duo discussed what viewers could expect in terms of tones and themes, an understandable topic considering the Netflix series set a pretty high bar in terms of down-n-dirty action and intrigue.

"We're continuing the darkness of the first series on Netflix. It is gonna be that dark and that intense. We worked our butts off to make it that way," D'Onofrio shared about the upcoming series. "We do some things that are definitely a first for Disney+." In fact, Cox confirmed that his Matt Murdoch was going to get a chance at having a "potty mouth" – at least once. "I got an F-bomb in there for the first time ever… It was shocking to me," Cox shared – and he might be right if you look at it in terms of series produced by Marvel Studios/Television and not the Netflix shows that were brought over into the MCU timeline.

In terms of where things stand with Matt, Foggy (Elden Henson), and Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) – now running Nelson, Murdock & Page – Cox noted, "A few years have passed. In that time, Matt, Foggy, and Karen have found a pretty good rhythm." In fact, Matt's even found a way to strike a balance between practicing the law and kicking ass as a vigilante – until a certain someone re-enters his life. "Matt's made peace with his role both as a lawyer and a vigilante," shared Cox. "Then, of course, shit hits the fan."

In Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock (Cox), a blind lawyer with heightened abilities, is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk (D'Onofrio) pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course. With Dario Scardapane serving as showrunner, the series stars Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, and Michael Gandolfini, along with Ayelet Zurer and Jon Bernthal.

Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again is directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and David Boyd. The Disney+ streaming series is executive-produced by Scardapane, Benson, Moore, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Sana Amanat, Chris Gary, Chris Ord, and Matt Corman.

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