Daredevil: Born Again is undergoing a “significant creative reboot” after removing its writers and directors from the series.
According to a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter, the MCU’s upcoming Daredevil: Born Again is undergoing a “significant creative reboot” after head writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman were quietly booted off the project in September 2023. The series’ directors were also let go, meaning the studio is now in search of a new creative team.
Announced in May 2022, Daredevil: Born Again is part of Phase Five of the MCU. The first season will consist of 18 episodes and see Charlie Cox return to play the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, Matt Murdock/Daredevil. Vincent D’Onofrio and Jon Bernthal will return as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin and Frank Castle/Punisher, while Margarita Levieva, Michael Gandolfini, Sandrine Holt, and Nikki M. James also star.
The Hollywood Reporter’s article further details that Ord and Corman’s version of the show was largely different from the three-season Netflix series. According to sources, Daredevil: Born Again reportedly operated as a legal procedural that didn’t see Cox don the Daredevil costume until the fourth episode. Less than half of the series’ first season was filmed when Ord and Corman were let go.
Ord and Corman remain executive producers on the project. Some of the scenes and episodes they worked on will remain in the series, though additional footage will likely be added.
“We’re trying to marry the Marvel culture with the traditional television culture,” said Brad Winderbaum, the head of streaming, television, and animation for Marvel Studios. “It comes down to, ‘How can we tell stories in television that honor what’s so great about the source material?’”
Marvel is changing its approach to television
Marvel now plans to make concrete changes to the way it approaches its television series by hiring showrunners rather than relying on film executives to guide the projects. These showrunners will begin writing pilots (instead of having the studio greenlight entire series from the get-go) and show bibles for prospective television projects.
“[Showrunners is] a term we’ve not only grown comfortable with but also learned to embrace,” said Winderbaum. “We need executives that are dedicated to this medium, that are going to focus on streaming, focus on television.”
A release date for Daredevil: Born Again has not yet been set.
