Highlights
- Marvel Studios is making sweeping changes to the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series, including hiring a showrunner for the first time in the MCU.
- The decision to bring in Dario Scardapane as showrunner, along with directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, shows a reworked approach to making shows for Disney+.
- Despite concerns from fans, Daredevil star Vincent D'Onofrio and others involved in the show are optimistic about the creative changes being made.
Daredevil: Born Again is undergoing sweeping changes at Marvel Studios. One of the behind-the-scenes decisions regarding how the production is approached marks a first for the popular MCU franchise.
Daredevil was the star of a highly successful Netflix series titled Daredevil, which had a dedicated fanbase and ran from 2015 until it was canceled in 2018. The viewers were unhappy with this decision and campaigned for a revival, with Marvel Studios caving to fan demand to bring back Cox's Daredevil when the character became available for the company to utilize in the MCU, announcing the aptly named Daredevil: Born Again.
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However, things wouldn't go smoothly, as Daredevil: Born Again fired several people behind the scenes and started a complete creative overhaul to save the show, apparently at the behest of Kevin Feige. More details on that restructuring have now been made public, and The Hollywood Reporter has noted that one of those decisions marks a new first for the MCU. As part of the new behind-the-scenes changes taking place on the Daredevil: Born Again production set, Dario Scardapane has been hired as the project’s showrunner, the first time an MCU show has had someone appointed to the traditional role. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have also been attached to helm episodes in the first season.
Before this announcement, Marvel Studios had always run their Disney Plus series akin to a movie set, eschewing traditional things like showrunners as an official position and the need for pilots and show bibles. With the decision to rework Disney's streaming strategy, Marvel Studios has also revised its approach to making shows for the Disney Plus platform, and there’s likely no better first choice than Scardapane. In addition to his recent work on Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, the newly appointed showrunner also helmed the Punisher Netflix series fans want brought back. Benson and Moorhead similarly have experience on the Disney Plus show Loki, giving fans fair confidence in all three new additions.
The hope backstage by Feige and others is likely that the changes to the show’s leadership and structure will make it better suited to address the well-documented challenges of fitting Marvel TV shows in the MCU. This is a sentiment shared by Daredevil star Vincent D'Onofrio, who commented on the situation with a positive lean. “Every cool project I've been involved with has evolved constantly during pre-production, production and post," the star opined in a social media post. "It's just reported on these days as if it's big news. It's not. It's simply a bunch of creatives doing their best to get it right. It's a constant in this business. I wouldn't have it any other way. Frankly I'd be worried if we were settling for less.”
Despite the signs of a solid plan in place, this still likely won’t stop Daredevil fans from worrying about the creative changes happening with the show. With delays due to the shakeup and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike precluding any filming from happening, there’s still a long wait ahead before audiences can judge for themselves how well these new plans work out.
Daredevil: Born Again will be released on Disney Plus.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter