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

Daredevil: Born Again Showrunner on Violence, Karen/Foggy Importance

Daredevil: Born Again Showrunner Dario Scardapane on the show's violence and why it was key for Karen Page and Foggy Nelson to return.

With less than a month to go until Marvel Television's Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) and Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk/Kingpin)-starring Daredevil: Born Again hits our screens, Showrunner Dario Scardapane has been getting the word out about the highly anticipated Disney+ series. In a recent interview with Empire, Scardapane discussed what viewers can expect in terms of violence – making the bold claim that it exceeds the Netflix/Marvel series (while also adding a major difference). In addition, the showrunner explained why it was key for Matt (Cox) to have Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) back in his life – and in the series. Here's a look at the highlights:

Scardapane Really Wants Netflix/Marvel Fans to Know That This Show Is Violent – Just Not How They Might Expect: "The level of violence is way up there for a Marvel/Disney show. I don't think there's anything else even in the ballpark. There's a moment in this that is just absolutely batshit and way past anything Netflix ever did," Scardapane shared about the level of violence in the series as compared to its predecessor – but that doesn't mean viewers should expect Matt and Fish duking it out every episode. "If you look at how it ends almost every season, they punch the shit out of each other, Kingpin goes to jail, we know he's gonna come back. I didn't want to do that. This dynamic is way more tense. There's one scene between them in the first episode that lays it all out. Then we spend the next eight episodes throwing rocks at it," he added.

Having Nelson, Murdock, and Page Reunited Was Line in the Sand for Scardapane: "That was actually one of the first things I said to the bosses. You can't do this show without Karen and Foggy. They're Matt's family. They're the heart of his world. You can't take them out without explaining why, and if that explanation doesn't ring true, don't take them out," Scardapane shared, noting that they are "necessary to the engine of the story" moving forward. "I was willing to lose a job over this one," Scardapane added, laughing. "Because Season 3 of the Netflix show ended with a dream, with the names on that napkin. If you don't pay that off, you're not giving your characters context. You can't ignore that dream."

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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