Daredevil actor Charlie Cox has responded to Born Again's surprise premiere death, admitting it was "devastating" for him personally, but also a necessary evil for Matt Murdock's character arc.
Major spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again follow. You have been warned!
"On a personal level, it's devastating," Cox told IGN of the moment that saw Elden Henson's Foggy Nelson assassinated by Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) outside of Josie's bar.
"Not just because of my friendship with Elden, his brilliance as Foggy. It has been argued that Foggy Nelson is the heartbeat of the MCU," Cox continued. "It's devastating from the show's perspective. There's so much that relationship, that dynamic offers."
For Cox, though, Foggy's death is something more than mere shock value. It offers a "brave and bold" way to move Matt's story on and, crucially, take him out of the suit. By the second episode's end – despite the smackdown he lays on a couple of corrupt cops – he's no longer The Man Without Fear.
"You have to have a reason for remaking the show. You've got to be brave and bold. The writers had this great idea about Matt really swearing off the suit entirely, which is the reverse of [Daredevil season 3]. But in order to do that, there's got to be a real reason. It can't just be anything."
Vincent D'Onofrio, who plays Kingpin in Daredevil: Born Again, teased perhaps more heartache and emotional anguish to come. He added, "A lot of the things in the season that we shot, they were really hard."
Speaking to GamesRadar+, showrunner Dario Scardapane revealed that Foggy's death was originally set to take place off-screen – a decision he ultimately reversed when he was brought in as part of Born Again's eyebrow-raising creative overhaul that led to the departure of the original directors and writers.
"It was determined before I came on. But unfortunately in the original version, it occurred off-screen and I was like, if something that intense and horrible and earth-shattering is gonna happen, we've gotta feel it and we've gotta see the ripple effect it's gonna have on Karen and Matt and the world," Scardapane explained.
For more on Daredevil: Born Again, check out our complete (and ongoing) guide to Daredevil: Born Again Easter eggs. For the full verdict, be sure to read the Daredevil: Born Again season 1 review.
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