Marvel Studios may have finally gotten the message. After years of declining audience engagement, box office failures, and fan frustration, the company has released a trailer that actually resonates. Daredevil: Born Again, set to premiere on Disney+ on March 4, brings back Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock in a gritty, action-packed return to form—and fans are taking notice.
The numbers tell the story. The Daredevil: Born Again trailer has amassed 15 million views on Marvel Entertainment’s official YouTube channel, with 582,000 likes and only 3,800 dislikes. This level of engagement is something Marvel TV hasn’t seen in a long time. Compare that to their last two Disney+ series, both of which centered around female protagonists and were heavily marketed with identity politics.
Take Echo, for example. Despite featuring Daredevil himself, the trailer only managed 7.6 million views, roughly half of Born Again’s, with 166,000 likes and 21,000 dislikes—a sign that viewers weren’t excited and those who did watch weren’t impressed.
Then there’s Agatha All Along, Marvel’s attempt at spinning off WandaVision into another female-led Disney+ series. The engagement for this show went into free fall with the release of each trailer.
The show had three separate trailers, all performing abysmally:
- Teaser Trailer – 7.7 million views, 182,000 likes, and 57,000 dislikes
- Official Trailer – 6.3 million views, 98,000 likes, and 37,000 dislikes
- Mid-Season Trailer – 1.4 million views, 46,000 likes, and 3,100 dislikes
That last figure is particularly damning. A mid-season trailer is supposed to capitalize on audience excitement, drawing in those who may have been on the fence. Instead, it seems to confirm that audiences had already tuned out.
(L-R) Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL
By contrast, Daredevil: Born Again is being met with excitement. The trailer is packed with brutal action, featuring Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, John Bernthal’s Punisher, and the return of fan-favorite characters like Foggy Nelson, Karen Page, and Bullseye. Notably absent? Any sign of the “girlboss” elements that have dominated recent Marvel projects. For the first time in years, a major Marvel series is centered on a central male hero without sidelining him in favor of a politically motivated narrative.
Of course, fans remain cautious. Marvel has a history of bait-and-switch tactics. Just look at Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was marketed as a Doctor Strange sequel but ended up being a movie about Wanda Maximoff and America Chavez. There’s always a chance Born Again will pull the same stunt.
The Kingpin in the Daredevil: Born Again trailer – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
One thing is clear, though—Marvel fans are rejecting identity politics and woke storytelling. They want high-quality, character-driven stories that respect established lore and stay true to what made the franchise successful in the first place. Daredevil: Born Again is the first sign in a long time that Marvel might finally be listening. Whether they follow through remains to be seen.
Are you surprised that the Daredevil: Born Again trailer is performing so much better than Marvel’s 2024 TV offerings? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
I’m not surprised. And should Disney not screw it up, should they actually maintain that tone and quality throughout the show, I could see word of mouth driving this to Mando S1&2 numbers by the end of it’s run. I don’t think it will start there, because despite buzz, many remain cautious of the bait and switch. But if there is no bait and switch, I think this could start around Ahsoka – Kenobi numbers, 600M – 800M watch mins per episode and grow to 1.2B by the finale. Of course, if there IS a bait and switch, that 600M could crater to Acolyte numbers by mid season. So, we’ll see…
It will still be garbage.
Why do people trust trailers?
I’m predicting a black Elektra shows up that they never showed in the trailers.
The actress that played Elektra previously was Asian, so what’s the point of swapping one minority for another? Seems like the virtue signaling would get cancelled out by negative fan reaction and would upset the Asian community. Are America’s sacred negroes worth the rub?
Dont you remember hollywood considers asians proto white …. XD
it so weird man hollywood…