Wait, was ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ originally a comedy show or not?
Reports seem to suggest that 'Daredevil: Born Again' was conceived as a comedy, but that's not exactly the case.
With the debut of Disney+’s Daredevil revival right around the corner, there’s been a lot of conflicting reports about the show’s original direction. Now, showrunner Dario Scardapane is setting the record straight by debunking the rumor that Daredevil: Born Again was conceived as a comedy series.
Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again has found itself at the center of some online drama ahead of its 2o25 premiere, and it has little to do with the show itself. For context, Daredevil: Born Again, which will act as a spiritual successor to Netflix’s Defenders universe, underwent extensive reshoots on the heels of the Hollywood strikes. Original showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord were replaced by Punisher alum Dario Scardapane at the request of Marvel brass, and some familiar faces from the Netflix series (i.e. Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson) joined the cast alongside Charlie Cox.
From what we’ve seen so far, Daredevil: Born Again will recapture the same violence and gritty overtones as its predecessor, with much of the focus being on Matt Murdock (Cox) and his nemesis, Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio). Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld chose to stir the pot when he took to X (Twitter) to claim that Marvel “literally reshot most every episode,” and that it was originally developed as a comedy, seemingly piggybacking off of the onslaught of MCU backlash that’s occurred in recent years.
According to Scardapane, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Dario Scardapane denies that Daredevil: Born Again was supposed to be a comedy
Speaking with ComicBook over the weekend, Scardapane addressed the rumors that Daredevil: Born Again was initially intended to be more lighthearted MCU endeavor, telling the outlet: “This all happened very, very recently, and from my understanding, none of that was accurate.”
Scardapane acknowledged Liefeld’s claims that the show brought on Daredevil and Deadpool stunts director Phil Silvera at the last second to make Daredevil: Born Again more of an action show rather than a comedy. “Phil did an amazing job with our action sequences, but he didn’t direct the episodes, and I don’t think [the producers] envisioned it as a comedy. What I saw when I got in and started playing around wasn’t a comedy.”
Netflix’s Daredevil is about the furthest thing from a comedy. Given that we’ve seen the MCU fully commit to more silly endeavors like She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Deadpool & Wolverine, I’d be hard-pressed to imagine Daredevil: Born Again cracking the kind of “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” jokes found in, say, Thor: Ragnarok. The reboot also received a TV-MA rating, so I’d expect less comedy and more bloody action sequences here.
Liefeld hasn’t had many kind things to say about Marvel leadership recently. After allegedly not being invited to a Deadpool & Wolverine afterparty and being “ignored” by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, Liefeld set out to cut ties with the company. “It was meant to embarrass, diminish, defeat [me],” he said during an episode of his Robservations with Rob Liefeld podcast.
I’m sure Born Again will have its funny moments. Ultimately, it sounds like the show was always intended to walk in the shoes of its action-packed predecessor. Fans can decide for themselves when the series lands on Disney+ on March 4th, 2025.
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