Dario Scardapane Comments on ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Revamp: ‘We Start with the Dream’

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If you’ve been following the development of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ you likely know that it’s been difficult, to say the least. The development of the show began in 2022, the original developers of the reboot series for Disney+ were Matt Corman and Chris Ord, who were attached as head writers and executive producers.

Kevin Feige and Chris Gary also served as producers during the early stages of its development. The show then used the SAG-AFTRA strike to reassess its current state and that’s when the trouble began.

It faced a major overhaul after executives deemed the original creative direction, led by Matt Corman and Chris Ord, to be a poor fit, with significant tonal differences from the Netflix series and a slow introduction of Daredevil in costume.

The original writers and directors were replaced, with ‘Punisher’ writer Dario Scardapane hired as showrunner and Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead brought on as directors. The series shifted to a darker, serialized tone closer to the Netflix version, retaining some pre-strike footage while adding new scenes.

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In a recent interview, Dario Scardapane discussed the creative overhaul of ‘Daredevil: Born Again,’ explaining that while the original footage had strong points, it didn’t align with Daredevil’s established tone. The team opted to bridge the gap between the Netflix series and the MCU by creating a new pilot that incorporates elements of the original show while allowing new viewers to follow along without prior knowledge.

Scardapane shared that the series begins with the dream Foggy, Karen, and Matt outlined on a napkin in the Netflix finale: three friends starting a business together.

[The footage] had some really strong points, but it wasn’t feeling in line with what Daredevil had been established to be.

At the very end of the Netflix show, Foggy, Karen and Matt had a dream written out on the back of a napkin. We start with that dream. It’s not a dream that needs too much explanation; three good friends go into business together.

Charlie Cox also shared that the direction of the show changed significantly after the strike. He explained that Marvel wanted the show to feel fresh and not just replicate the original series, but after reviewing the footage, they realized it wasn’t working.

As a result, they filmed a new pilot and restructured existing material to better align with the tone of the original show, which Cox described as a “Herculean task” with impressive results.

There was a U-turn after the strike, where we were headed in one direction which was interesting and valid

The argument was, if we’re coming back after all these years, we don’t want to just do exactly the same thing. Marvel looked at the episodes and knew it wasn’t quite working. We shot a whole new pilot and they reorganised what we had filmed to make it feel more like the show we had shot all those years previously. Given what a Herculean task that was, it’s very impressive what they achieved.

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ premieres on Disney+ on March 4th. Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!

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