After nearly seven years since the original Daredevil series ended on Netflix, the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen makes his long-awaited return in Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+. The original show remains a standout in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, praised for its gritty, street-level storytelling that felt more like a crime drama than a typical superhero series. With the move to Disney+, many fans wondered whether that dark, grounded tone would be watered down for a broader audience. Thankfully, the grit remains, but the story doesn’t. Spoilers ahead.
In case you missed it, Daredevil: Born Again underwent major reshoots after stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio voiced concerns to Kevin Feige about the show’s original direction. Initially conceived as a hard reboot, the series was pitched as a procedural drama with no ties to the Netflix original—an approach that didn’t sit well with either actor. In what can only be described as an act of God, Feige actually listened, halting production and ordering a complete rewrite and reshoot. Unfortunately, the course correction wasn’t enough. The end result feels disjointed and uneven, more like a patchwork than a revival.
The narrative in Daredevil: Born Again is scattered, a clear casualty of the extensive rewrites. There’s no strong, consistent arc tying the season together, and the story often feels like it’s jumping between ideas. The first episode acts as a soft reboot, reintroducing Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), who has abandoned his Daredevil persona following Foggy’s murder at the hands of Bullseye. But when Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is elected mayor, Matt is pulled back into the fight, reigniting the Devil within. What follows is a jarring shift into procedural territory, as Matt takes on the case of a vigilante accused of killing a cop—a storyline wrapped up by episode four. Episode five delivers a standout classic comic book one-shot featuring a tense bank robbery, with Matt forced to act as Daredevil while dressed in civilian clothes. But just as that momentum builds, the show pivots again, this time to a brief arc involving the serial killer Muse, which concludes just one episode later. Finally, in the last two episodes, the show settles into the story it seemingly wanted to tell all along: Fisk turning his mayoral power into a full-blown dictatorship. Unfortunately, by the time it gets there, the path has been so fragmented that the impact is blunted.
It’s difficult to ignore the narrative disarray at the heart of Daredevil: Born Again. Rather than presenting a unified storyline, the season unfolds as a loosely connected anthology of character moments and subplots, more preoccupied with setting the stage for future seasons than telling a complete and satisfying story in the present. The only throughline that achieves any real cohesion is Wilson Fisk’s arc, which follows his calculated ascent through the political machinery of New York City. In contrast, Matt Murdock, and other characters feel adrift in their narratives. To be clear, many of these standalone episodes work well on their own terms. The standout one-shot episode, in particular, is a thrilling display of tension and craft. But strong individual moments don’t necessarily coalesce into a compelling whole. What emerges instead is a fractured narrative that only begins to find its purpose in the final two episodes, by which point it rushes through key developments in its eagerness to set up what comes next, rather than fully realize the season at hand.
The fractures in Daredevil: Born Again extend beyond its narrative. The impact of the reshoots and rewrites is equally evident in the filmmaking itself, which varies dramatically in quality from episode to episode. It quickly becomes apparent which installments are remnants of the original production and which are part of the retooled vision. The reshot episodes boast noticeably stronger direction, tighter editing, and a more atmospheric, gritty visual style. The fight choreography in particular stands out—raw, kinetic, and far less staged than what viewers have come to expect from recent Disney+ outings. By contrast, the original episodes feel visually flat and uninspired, echoing the familiar, formulaic look and tone that has come to define much of Marvel’s streaming output. The inconsistency is jarring, and it undermines the show’s ability to establish a distinct aesthetic or rhythm across the season.
If there’s one element that remains consistently strong throughout Daredevil: Born Again, it’s the ensemble cast. Despite the uneven writing, the performers return to their iconic roles with remarkable ease and conviction. Charlie Cox once again anchors the series with a compelling blend of charm and inner conflict, portraying a Matt Murdock caught in a moral and spiritual crisis as he wrestles with the decision to unleash the Devil once more. Vincent D’Onofrio, meanwhile, elevates the material with a chillingly controlled performance as Wilson Fisk, imbuing the Kingpin with a potent mix of menace, vulnerability, and calculated fury, often surpassing what the script affords him. Furthermore, whenever Cox and D’Onofrio share the screen, their love-hate dynamic crackles with tension and complexity, it’s nothing short of captivating. Jon Bernthal’s return as The Punisher is equally electric, delivering a blood-soaked intensity that feels both cathartic and true to the character’s brutal ethos. The rest of the supporting cast steps up with equal commitment, injecting emotional weight and presence into a show that, narratively, often fails to give them the structure they deserve. In many ways, it’s the strength of the performances alone that holds the series together.
At its best, Daredevil: Born Again soars, delivering flashes of the brilliance that made the character’s original run so revered. It’s undeniably entertaining, and when it clicks, it truly reminds us why Daredevil remains one of Marvel’s most compelling heroes. But those highs are undercut by a fractured structure and an identity crisis born from behind-the-scenes turmoil. The foundations of something exceptional are there, but the execution never fully capitalizes on its potential. Despite its missteps, there’s still reason for optimism. The performances are strong, the tone is closer to what fans hoped for, and the groundwork is in place. But it’s equally clear that Marvel has yet to fully understand what made the Netflix series so special, gritty storytelling, focused character arcs, and a willingness to let the devil out.
My Rating: B-
Leave a Reply