After well-documented behind-the-scenes issues in its first season, Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane says the gloves are off for season 2.
Speaking to SFX magazine about the situation that saw the showrunner parachuted in to oversee reshoots on a first season that quickly turned sour amid creative departures, Scardapane said, "The task of season one was a really sick kind of fun. They'd gone in a direction where it was a different kind of show. It was much more of a procedural, much more focused on the courtroom."
To salvage the Disney Plus series, Scardapane admitted they had to "do this cobbled-together Frankenstein," while inputting both a fully new opening scene (which saw Foggy Nelson bite the bullet) and the likes of a Punisher return in its finale to set up its next story arc. From there, the building blocks for Daredevil: Born Again season 2 were set.
"By landing really strongly at the beginning and end with an idea of 'This is what the show wants to be, this is what the show is', we were able to kick the narrative into the second season relatively unfettered," Scardapane revealed.
He added, "You'll see in some of these episodes that we were able to really let it rip in a way we might not have been able to last season."
For those out of the loop, Daredevil: Born Again began as a revival-slash-sequel of Netflix's Daredevil series, with The Man Without Fear fully integrated into the MCU.
However, October 2023 saw both writers and directors of the first iteration of the Disney Plus show let go by Marvel Studios. With Scardapane coming in to stitch together the completed footage with a handful of reshot scenes and episodes, Daredevil actor Charlie Cox was part of a creative overhaul.
"One of the most amazing things about working for this company was their ability to look at what we were making, listen to the things [Kingpin actor Vincent D'Onofrio] and I had to say about it and pivot; decide you know what, this isn’t quite the right direction and we know how we can change it and make it better," Cox said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Daredevil: Born Again debuted to solid reviews, garnering an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes – though some detractors believed the show was a casualty of an inconsistent tone, lackluster villains, and lacking the punch of its Netflix predecessor.
Daredevil: Born Again season 2 premieres on Disney Plus on March 24. For more, check out the other upcoming Marvel movies and shows in the works.
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