Should we prepare for something deeply personal in Daredevil: Born Again? That could just be reading too much into the title. Lawyer-turned-vigilante, Matt Murdock is returning after years of anticipation. Set to hit Disney+ in 2025, Daredevil: Born Again will mark the return of one of Marvel’s most beloved.
When Daredevil first appeared on Netflix in 2015, it stood out like a sore thumb — especially when compared to the light-hearted tone of the MCU’s mainstream films and shows. Daredevil offered something else – grit, brutality, and moral existentialism.
Set in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, the Netflix series followed Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who moonlights as a vigilante superhero. Unlike others, not just the MCU, Murdock does not channel the cosmic or something superhuman—he has a blind man’s heightened senses and a relentless moral compass.
Release date, returning characters, and fresh faces
At the 2023 New York Comic Con, Marvel Studios officially announced that Daredevil: Born Again will premiere on March 4, 2025. This release marks the return of Murdock and D’Onofrio to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after the show’s initial three-season run on Netflix ended in 2018.
Leading the bandwagon is Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer. Vincent D’Onofrio returns as crime boss Wilson Fisk, the much-adored antagonist Kingpin. Jon Bernthal will also reprise his role as Frank Castle/The Punisher, an anti-hero at odds with Daredevil.
In this platter of Murdock, Fisk, and Castle, Daredevil: Born Again will introduce a slew of new characters. Since the series is set within the larger MCU, it is said to include more connections to the Marvel universe than the Netflix series did.
Margarita Levieva and Michael Gandolfini are among some fresh faces, though their roles remain shrouded still. Given Gandolfini’s rising fame and Levieva’s ‘it could be anything’ versatility, many are eager to see what dynamic they’ll bring to the Daredevil world.
Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) are also expected to bring in a sense of familiarity and will reprise their crucial roles. Karen will continue her crusade for justice alongside Matt, while Foggy will look to keep him grounded.
The return of Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) is also slated. Bullseye terrorized Matt Murdock in the third season of Daredevil on Netflix and is one of the most unhinged villains in Daredevil’s rogues’ gallery.
Plot and Trailer
Although Marvel would prefer to keep the nitty-gritty under wraps, we do know that Daredevil: Born Again is not an immediate sequel to the Netflix series. It will likely continue the character arcs introduced there though. The official synopsis will give fans a glimpse of what is going on between Murdock and Fisk. It reads:
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.
Is a political power grab on the table? The title Born Again is not a heart-cry. In this instance, it is a straight reference to Frank Miller’s 1980s comic storyline, in which Kingpin runs riot in Daredevil’s life after discovering his secret identity. While it’s unclear how closely the series will follow the Frank Miller plot, any semblance of that storyline would be a treat for fans.
The show is being helmed by Dario Scardapane, who previously worked on The Punisher, as a showrunner. It is a calculated choice, given Scardapane’s experience with the darker, grittier side of the MCU. Directors Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, having previously worked on Loki, will also bring their unique visual pazaz.
Marvel has yet to release a full trailer for Daredevil: Born Again. Fans, nevertheless, were treated to an exclusive sneak peek during the “Marvel Fanfare With C.B. Cebulski” panel at the New York Comic Con. While that footage has not been made available to the public yet, the appetites of fans were satiated when a trailer leaked online, rekindling excitement. Daredevil’s in a new outfit, and there is violence – a lot of it.
MCU connections
Since the cancellation of Daredevil on Netflix, fans wondered, craved, and wished the new series would tie into the broader MCU. Matt Murdock already made a cameo appearance as Peter Parker’s lawyer in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Wilson Fisk was revealed to be the villain in Hawkeye (2021).
Daredevil: Born Again is part of the MCU’s Phase Five, which means it could have significant implications for the rest of the universe. Marvel is likely to maintain the street-level, crime-focused tone of the original, but with the potential for larger connections to characters like Spider-Man and Echo
The legacy of a cancelled Daredevil
Throughout its three-season run, Daredevil garnered massive critical acclaim. While doing so, it laid the foundation for the Marvel-Netflix boom. Cue – Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and The Punisher. Despite its success, however, Netflix canceled the show in November 2018, leaving fans without closure. Mindhunter much?
The cancellation naturally came as a shock. Showrunner Erik Oleson had already pitched a fourth season to Netflix. “A lot of us really expected to keep going, and I certainly did,” Cox expressed in an interview. “The truth is, I felt like we had a lot of stories to tell, and although I understand [the cancellation], I’m very saddened by that.”
Vincent D’Onofrio, who played Wilson Fisk, had a similar thing to say to Digital Spy, admitting that the decision to cancel Daredevil was “a bit shocking.” He added, “It was such a good, fun thing to do, especially because of the other people doing it with me… So it was a bit of a shocker. It is a big shame.”
Many remained puzzled about why Netflix and Marvel shut shop on the series. One plausible explanation, however, may have been the fraying of wires between Netflix and Marvel. The streaming platform is said to have been on the lookout to cut down the number of episodes per season, shifting from 13 to 10, while Marvel wanted to maintain the original format. Netflix’s shifting focus on shows like Sex Education and Russian Doll eventually became the death knell for the old Daredevil.
Despite the cancellation, both Marvel and Netflix issued statements that “the Daredevil character will live on in future projects for Marvel.” This left the door open for Cox’s Matt Murdock to return, and now it is finally happening.
Check out the old Daredevil on Disney+
