Daredevil: Born Again, Disney+’s upcoming phase five series, is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) most important upcoming release for the powerhouse franchise, marking a potential turning point in the brand’s future.  Scheduled to air in 2025, the miniseries will expectedly follow on from Netflix’s exceedingly popular original series, Daredevil (2015). Initial filming began in March of 2023, however, was delayed by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Filming recently resumed in January of 2024, with Marvel heavyweights Dario Scardapane, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead on board.

Netflix’s original Daredevil was a standout addition to the MCU, initially a part of Netflix’s individual branch of Marvel content, and was the catalyst for both Netflix’s The Defenders (2017) crossover miniseries, and The Punisher (2017) series. Daredevil follows blind Lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) as he navigates Hell’s Kitchen’s criminal landscape with partners Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll): pro bono by day, vigilante by night. Murdock crosses paths with a host of synonymously gritty and dark villains and associates, including Wilson Fisk / Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), Frank Castle / Punisher (Jon Bernthal), and ex-girlfriend Elektra Natchios (Élodie Yung).

Daredevil was cancelled in November 2018, marking its third season as the show’s last. The cancellation was sudden and strongly felt by cast, crew, and fans of the show. Deborah Ann Woll shared the following surrounding her dissatisfaction: “I would say no, partially because the Marvel series feels unfinished to me because we got cancelled when we thought we were going to have more.”

With Daredevil: Born Again’s release scheduled for next year, fans can hope that Disney+’s handling of the eponymous character will provide some closure for Netflix’s sudden cancellation and unfinished plotlines.

One of Daredevil’s strongest assets was the show’s 18+ age rating, separating the show from its Marvel counterparts as a more visceral and expository depiction of the superhero phenomenon. Over the past few years, it feels as though Disneyfied Marvel is pandering further towards its younger audiences: think Thor: Love and Thunder’s (2022) screaming goats and the undelivered initial ‘horror’ premise of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). If Daredevil: Born Again is capable of revitalising the MCU’s ability to take its audiences seriously, then the show is in with a chance of redeeming the fallout left by its most disappointing projects of recent years, and may reintroduce many lost audience members to the cinematic universe once more.

Murdock’s nemesis, Wilson Fisk, is a key player in Daredevil’s transition from Netflix exclusivity to transferring across the Sony and Disney Marvel franchises. The character has appeared in both the Spider-Verse (2018) franchise and in Hawkeye (2021), appearing to bridge the gap between multiple Marvel-based franchises, and sparking intrigue as to how Charlie Cox’s Murdock will fare in the Disney+ MCU. Cox has already dipped his toes into the Disney machine, appearing in She-Hulk (2022), displaying a more chipper and relaxed side to the previously intense character: the same Daredevil, that hopefully The Mouse can get behind.

In essence, Daredevil: Born Again feels heavier than simply a Disney+ reboot, or just another Marvel show. The show comes with so much weight and expectation, that it may be a gift or a curse for the MCU. Daredevil: Born Again has the ability to redeem so many of Marvel’s recent missteps, or to entirely waste any sense of hope that long-time fans had that the franchise might return to the golden days of the 2010s superhero movie-magic. 

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