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

Daredevil: Born Again Showrunner on That Shocking [SPOILER] Moment

Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane and star [SPOILER] discuss that shocking moment with [SPOILER]'s [SPOILER].

You can't ever say that Daniel Scardapane's Daredevil: Born Again plays it safe, considering how much of the superhero crime drama has been delivering in a major way, especially these past few weeks, upping the ante. For Michael Gandolfini's Daniel Blake, he has been pretty set as far as being a made man (similar to his father James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano on the David Chase HBO series) under the guidance of Arty Froushan's Buck Cashman, Wilson Fisk's (Vincent D'Onofrio) right-hand man. Tensions have been rising as Daniel's been put on edge, especially with his relationship with Genneya Walton's BB Urich, who's become a loud voice of the resistance with The BB Report, an underground podcast that transmits anonymously to New Yorkers to find the truth about Mayor Fisk/Kingpin, but under a voice modulator and a Fisk mask. Froushan and Scardapane spoke with Variety on Daniel's character-defining moment in the latest episode, "The Hateful Darkness." The following contains major spoilers.

Daredevil: Born Again Star Arty Froushan and Showrunner Dario Scardapane on Daniel Blake's Moment of Truth

As Buck took Daniel under his wing, he revealed the truth about Fisk's criminal underworld operations, helping him dispose of a body. The next major test of loyalty was to try to set BB up by feeding her false intel, and if she posted the "leak" online, she would be the next target. Already conflicted with the prospect of having to kill his friend, Daniel convinces her to flee the scene, as he will ultimately confront Buck. The heartbroken assassin, who felt almost as conflicted about killing Daniel, ended up killing him after a brief struggle, and Daniel met Buck's eyes stoically in the end.

Originally, that wasn't the case, Froushan admits, as Buck did initially spare Daniel before talking to Fisk. "Buck had to face up to Fisk, but he doesn't admit it," he said. "He lies to Fisk's face, basically, and says, 'I killed him,' but obviously he doesn't." Scardapane added, "The way that it would have gone is that he stayed in the Fisk administration," he says. "He goes in to resign, and the new interim mayor is like, 'I'm not taking your resignation. I'm going to keep you close because I don't trust you.'"

In mulling over the decision in the editing room that would have compromised Buck's soul and character, "Scardapane changed his mind, saying keeping Blake alive "was kind of meh and a non-story… Sometimes the arc is built in, and you're extending it a little too far. Like, wait a second. He and Buck, in their twisted friendship, both had to be true to who they were. That's the last moment because everything afterwards seemed kind of like a weird, lame coda that didn't pay off." The showrunner broke the news to Gandolfini, "I was like, 'Dude, I've got the worst news,'" he said. "And he's like, 'I know exactly what you're gonna say, and it's the right choice.' He felt in that moment that there's no way he's getting out of that apartment. It was funny because there were scenes shot of him after that moment, and it really feels like we're telling the wrong story here. I think it's a testament to how much we all love him that we knew this character probably should not survive, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it."

A gunshot was added in post-production at the end of Froushan and Gandolfini's final scene, and the rest is history. "The fact that, as actors, we didn't know that was gonna happen makes the scene maybe even more compelling," Froushan said. "I love Michael Gandolfini like a brother. This season, the whole journey we have together is a movie. So I was gutted. I was really upset. But I think it raises the stakes of the story in a really exciting way that was maybe necessary for that storyline." The season finale of Daredevil: Born Again streams on May 5th on Disney+.

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