Summary
Daredevil: Born Againwill be violent and brutal that’s what the cast members said in interviews. The producer adds that their bosses are supportive of it.
The originalDaredevilseries, starring Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, originally streamed on Netflix from 2015 to 2018. It was critically acclaimed and a fourth season was in the pipeline, but Marvel ended their deal with Netflix and moved to Disney Plus. When Marvel cut their ties with Netflix, it also led to the cancelation of several shows, includingDaredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher, Iron FistandThe Defenders. Marvel and Disney Plus are revivingDaredevil. However, the rebooted series is more violent and brutal than the original one. The producer said they had their bosses' support for it.
Showrunner Dario Scardapane and Sana Amanat, executive producer ofDaredevil: Born Again,spoke with Collider about the upcoming series. According to Scardapane, they never heard a word from Kevin Feige, the Marvel Studios President, limiting their approach to the series in terms of the brutality of the show. In fact, they were encouraged to do more despite Disney Plus' reputation. Amanat doubled down on the claim and even shared a quote she heard from their Marvel bosses. “I have to say, Kevin Feige, Lou D’Esposito, and Brad Winderbaum, who are the heads of the studio, very much were like,‘Go for it. The bloodier, the better, 100%,'“Amanat recounted. She added that their bosses were supportive of their original plan because what they did inDaredevil: Born Againwas from the original show. “From the beginning, even in the old iteration of the show, we have a couple of sequences in there, shot by Dave McCumber, our other stunt coordinator, and there are some crazy things that happen, which you will see soon, hopefully. He shot the end of Episode 2, actually. That was in the old material. So, it was always the intention. It was a bit of like, ‘Let’s ask for forgiveness later from our big bosses.’ But yeah, they were very supportive.”
Scardapane admitted that he was surprised at their freedom to design the reboot as bloody and as gory as it is. According to the showrunner, the violent scenes were greenlit so long as they made sense in the story. They reportedly never hear a word about pulling it back. “I was shocked. As somebody who worked onThe Punisher, as somebody who works in this sandbox, there was never, ‘Hey, back it off,'“Scardapane shared. He added:
It was always like, ‘Does it make sense? Is it a good story?’ And getting a chance to work with [second unit director] Phil Silvera, who I’m a huge fanboy for, building these action sequences, making them eye-popping, making them real, making them gritty, making them hurt, Disney+ and Marvel never said, ‘Pull back.’
Everyone involved inDaredevil: Born Againhas been conditioning the public about the show being brutal and violent. Marvel Studios’ Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, also previously said that theDaredevilreboot"is one of themost violent things we’ve put on screen, but it’s in service of a greater tragedy that is really compelling.“How they put this on screen is something fans are looking forward to seeing. And yes, it was surprising that the production team was given the freedom to carry out their gory plans and Marvel encouraged them to do so because it would be airing on Disney Plus, a family-friendly platform. However, if the violence and brutality made sense and were necessary for the development of the storyline, then it would be okay. And that’s for the viewers to judge since the show is coming out in a few days.
