Summary
Daredevil: Born Againshowrunner Dario Scardapane explained how the Disney Plus series will differentiate itself from the original Netflix series. However, fans are not happy with Scardapane’s comments and are now worriedDaredevil: Born Againwill miss what made the Netflix series great.
Daredevil: Born Againinitially started filming with seemingly loose connections to the original Netflix series, which ran for three seasons before being canceled by the streaming service. Marvel Studios seemingly didn’t want to repeat what was seen on the Netflix series and went in a different direction. However, the 2023 actors' and writers' strikes afforded Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios executives to asses theDaredevil: Born Againfootage and determined it wasn’t working.Daredevil: Born Againunderwent a creative overhaulthat involved writing new episodes and reworking scenes so some pre-existing footage could still be used, with Scardapane brought on board as showrunner.
During an interview with SFX Magazine (viaGamesRadar), Scardapane explained howDaredevil: Born Againis different from the Netflix show, noting that there will be more “fun moments” with the characters and “less navel-gazing.” Scardapane elaborated by pointing out what he believes was one of the weaker aspects of the Netflix Daredevil show. “The earlier show, at its best, was fantastic,” Scardapane said. “At its worst, it was two characters in a room talking about what a hero is. I felt that had been done. I’m not taking swipes. I just didn’t want to hear characters grousing about their lot in life. I wanted to see them doing things.”
Scardapane noted that during his time as showrunner on Netflix’sThe Punisherseries, their “edict” was to write long scenes of characters conversing to create space between the action sequences. However, since then, they are now able “to do big action sequences at a lot more pace.” Scardapane also noted that the Netflix series was a noir-esque,Daredevil: Born Againis more of a New York crime story akin to two familiar projects.
It has elements of The Sopranos and King Of New York. There’s a feeling for those classic ’90s crime tales. It has a pace and a scope that, for a lot of reasons, Netflix wasn’t able to do. They were very dark, cinematically, not necessarily story-wise, although there were some dark elements. We’re much darker."
Unfortunately for Scardapane, fans don’t agree with his assessment of Netflix’sDaredevilseries. Several fans on Twitter took issue with Scardapane characterizing the dialogue scenes as the show at its “worst.” Many pointed to theDaredevilseason 3 episode titled “New York’s Finest” as one of the show’s best episodes, which almost entirely centered on Charlie Cox’s Man without Fear andJon Bernthal’s The Punisherarguing over whose methods were more effective at fighting crime. Consequently, a few fans are now concerned that the creative team onDaredevil: Born Againhas missed what made fans love the Netflix series and instead sacrificed great character moments for action.
It’s true that while the hallway fight sequences and physical confrontations with villains were among the Netflix show’s highlights, some of the most memorable scenes involved little more than conversations between characters in rooms. Scardapane may have misspoken, but ifDaredevil: Born Again’s violent action scenescome at the expense of these great character moments, fans will be displeased.
