In a move that may surprise no one, Marvel Studios reportedly instructed the original creative team behind Daredevil: Born Again not to watch the popular Netflix series starring Charlie Cox. The directive was part of a broader initial strategy to steer the Disney+ revival away from the darker, grittier tone that defined the character’s previous portrayal.
The Editors’ Revealing Comments
The claim comes directly from editors Stephanie Filo and Cedric Nairn-Smith, who spoke about the show’s development process in a recent interview with Awards Radar. According to Filo:
“The original take on it was to lean away from the Netflix Daredevil show. They actually told us not to watch the Netflix show, because they didn’t want to affect how we were editing it. Once we restructured everything and figured out we would do a different take on it, we dove back into the Netflix side of things. We were able to use temp music from that Netflix series, and get back to that darker vibe.”
Filo’s comments confirm prior reports that Daredevil: Born Again underwent major retooling midway through production.
The Kingpin in the Daredevil: Born Again trailer – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
Originally conceived as a fresh start for the character’s MCU presence—especially after his appearance in She-Hulk—the lukewarm reception to recent Marvel Disney+ series like Secret Invasion may have prompted the pivot back toward the tone that made Daredevil a fan favorite.
Editor Cedric Nairn-Smith added that the restructuring process led to surprising moments of creative cohesion.
“Sometimes, we would iterate these episodes, and would be asked at times to intercut these scenes,” he said. “We thought intercuts would not work because they weren’t intended to be intercut. However, once we started intercutting, we found out that there were common threads here. It felt like it was a happy accident that these inner cuts worked… A lot of it was trial and error trying to find those threads, but some of it was also planned.”
A Pattern Across Marvel Projects
This isn’t the first time Marvel has distanced creatives from existing material. According to The Direct, Secret Invasion director Ali Selim revealed he was told outright by Marvel to avoid reading the comics altogether.
“The first thing I was told is don’t read the comics,” he said. “It had nothing to do with what we’re trying to do here.”
(L-R): Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk/Jennifer “Jen” Walters in Marvel Studios‘ She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2022 MARVEL.
This echoed earlier statements from Marvel Studios VP of Production & Development Nate Moore, who once noted that writers deeply familiar with the comics are “always a red flag” during hiring. While Marvel has built its empire on comic-based storytelling, it has increasingly embraced a strategy that favors narrative “reinvention” over source fidelity.
What’s Next for Daredevil?
Despite the course correction, Daredevil: Born Again has struggled (and failed) to regain the momentum of its Netflix predecessor. Ratings have been underwhelming compared to earlier MCU streaming offerings (which really isn’t saying much!), although a second season is already in development.
Jon Bernthal as The Punisher – YouTube, Keep Cool Scenes
The new season will reportedly see the return of Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, alongside Charlie Cox and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. Incidentally, Bernthal’s character is also set to appear in Spider-Man Brand New Day and a Punisher special for Disney+.
Whether the darker tone and nostalgia bait will be enough to win back audiences remains to be seen.
They’ll never learn, will they?
Like moths to a flame.
No one is watching Daredevil, no one is interested in this Marvel nonsense any longer. It’s a deadly combination of Wokery and MORE wokery. If they made movies patriotic, white and macho, then the audience would be all over it.
Hell, they don’t even need to be exclusively white. So long as the other non white characters are badass and cool then nobody would care. Just don’t have them overshadow the other characters, have them work as a team.
Daredevil: Aborted Again.
The Netflix Daredevil was one of the best superhero shows around, and almost universally acclaimed by the fans.
Marvel: “Yeah, let’s move away from that.”