When Daredevil: Born Again was first announced, two beloved characters from the original Netflix series were not due to appear – Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy (Elden Henson). Despite being Matt Murdock's close friends and partners in law, in the original plans for the upcoming Marvel show they weren't even really acknowledged.
However, as the show paused production during the Hollywood strikes, Marvel Studios realized that they were unhappy with the direction the series was taking, letting go of the creative team. As showrunner Dario Scardapane and director duo Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson were brought in, plans shifted with Karen and Foggy's return announced.
But why bring them back? Of course, the pair are fan-favorite characters who are Murdock's closest allies, but according to Moorhead it goes deeper than that. Speaking at a press conference that GamesRadar+ attended, the director revealed that the duo's presence was needed to feel like a "warm hug" amidst the tragedy of this season.
In fact, the filmmaker hopes that it makes the emotions of the season even more intense, so you may want to bring the tissues. As Moorhead says: "It was important for us to start out the show with feeling how these characters have evolved since we last saw them, and it feeling like a big warm hug because when the big thing happens, it's in contrast to that hug."
He continues: "You feel the tragedy even more and you feel that event as something that that would shake the faith of Matt Murdock/Daredevil in such a way that he would question everything about his place in the universe, and that grief would ripple out season long, and that by doing that, we would amp that up. And on top of that, there's the obvious thing of like, we love those characters and we love those actors, and just can't imagine the show without them."
What exactly this "big thing" that happens will be is currently unclear, but head of Marvel Television Brad Winderbaum does warn that the show is "honoring" the "tragic storylines" from the comics. He revealed: "There are so many tragic storylines in the Daredevil comics that challenge Matt [Murdock] and Wilson [Fisk] and that is something that we are honoring in a massive way in Born Again."
Right now all that we know storyline wise is that Daredevil: Born Again will follow Wilson Fisk's, a.k.a. Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio), pursuit of political power as he campaigns to be mayor of New York. Naturally this sets him on a collision path once again with the Man Without Fear (Charlie Cox).
Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Disney Plus on March 4 in the US, arriving the following day in the UK. Never miss an episode with our Daredevil: Born Again release schedule.
Before it starts, don't forget to check out our guide to the Marvel shows and movies to watch before Daredevil: Born Again.
