'No one wanted to do it' - Inside Daredevil: Born Again's shocking death

Daredevil giveth, and Daredevil taketh away. After a seven-year wait, Daredevil: Born Again has premiered its first two episodes on Disney+ , and in its opening moments, fans were immediately reminded why they missed this show so much – and how quickly it could break their hearts. Warning: this article contains spoilers The first episode begins focusing on the camaraderie of its three lead characters – Matt Murdock/Daredevil ( Charlie Cox ), Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) – following them down the street as they go out after work. Their fun is interrupted, however, when a sniper attacks – and Foggy is killed. “The decision led to a lot of sleepless nights, and many, many long creative discussions,” producer Brad Winderbaum tells The National . “It’s not something we took lightly. In fact, no one really wanted to do it – but we all realised we needed to do it.” The question, of course, is why? The simple answer is: This is Daredevil . What has made this character stand out from his countless contemporaries since the character was first introduced by Stan Lee and Bill Everett in 1964 is that he struggles more – both in his heart and in his circumstances, this is a character who is constantly pushed to his limits and finding a way to keep going. It’s Marvel’s version of the biblical Book of Job – a character whose faith is constantly tested, but never lost. And so, to reintroduce the show after such a long wait, Murdock had to be tested even further than he’s ever been – and instantly. “At the end of season three of the show, they lay out their dream,” says showrunner Dario Scardapane, referring to the three characters’ ambitions towards running a law firm together. “We show that the dream is realised, and then we start to take it apart. Everything had to change.” Winderbaum adds: “Being Daredevil comes at a cost, oftentimes a significant one, oftentimes a mortal one for the people in Matt's life. And if we were going to push Matt over the line and have him a decision that would shatter his sense of morality, we knew it had to be caused by something as significant as that murder in the first episode.” “Death comes with a loss of innocence and a feeling that you know the finality of not being able to go back. And it is devastating, but we determined behind the scenes, it's necessary for the story – as sad as it might be, as hard as it is to watch,” Winderbaum continues. Part of the reason the creative team behind Daredevil: Born Agai n knew they had to pull the trigger, so to speak, is because they already saw what would happen if they didn’t start the show with such an emotionally impactful moment. In 2023, six episodes were filmed that didn’t meet the standards that Daredevil had set over its three Netflix seasons, which led to stars Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio – who plays the villain Wilson Fisk – getting together with Marvel head Kevin Feige and the other key producers to figure out how they could fix things. They decided to scrap what they’d made entirely and start over – which led to Scardapane being brought in to take over the show. “We wanted it to be connected to the Netflix show,” says D’Onofrio. “And that comes with a darker tone and a whole a very different approach than what we were trying to do it at the beginning. We realised pretty early that we had to have strong conviction when it came to keeping the new show attached to the original.” While some reports have said that it was D’Onofrio and Cox alone that had identified the problems and asked Feige for the chance to start over, Cox is quick to correct the record. “I think it's important to clarify that you know that the shift that was made midway through shooting was a collaborative decision,” says Cox. “I applaud them for trying something different. And I applaud them for recognising early on that it wasn't quite working in the way that we hoped it would, and for having the courage and the foresight to make changes which can't have been easy and can't have been cheap. We feel very grateful to have to be working for a studio that will everything it takes to get it right.” While it may have been collaborative, the studio has the utmost respect for D’Onofrio and Cox, and throughout the series, Scardapane treated them as equal collaborators, leaning on them for important creative decisions. “Charlie and Vincent are co-writers of this show – there's no two ways about that. And I say that as someone with a massive ego,” says Scardapane. “When you have the two of these characters together, and it becomes something else. And they know that. They know that alchemy better than I do.” The most difficult part of the change was saying goodbye to Elden Henson. “Eldon is a big part of the of the Daredevil family,” says Winderbaum. But Scardapane ensures that the event won’t be forgotten any time soon – and will continue playing out for years to come. “It wasn't done gratuitously, and it has a payoff that extends past this season into the second season. It's a very long throw,” says Scardapane. Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+

'No one wanted to do it' - Inside Daredevil: Born Again's shocking death

Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio and the show's creative team tell The National why the Disney+ revival series had to begin in tragedy