Daredevil: Born Again

Marvel’s dark comic book series about New York Hell’s Kitchen resident — blind lawyer Matt Murdoch by day turned Daredevil, masked vigilante by night — was originally brought to the small screen in three seasons created for Netflix between 2015 and 2018, starring Charlie Cox as Murdoch and Vincent D’Onofrio as his oversized nemesis Wilson Fisk. Now MCU head Kevin Feige has resurrected the show for a reboot on Disney Plus that reunites Cox and D'Onofrio and sees the battle for the soul of New York resume as a seemingly changed Murdoch and apparently rehabilitated Fisk find their paths crossing once again.

As actors, you were both determined that this new version remain true in spirit to the original show and that its story connect to the first three seasons. What was Marvel’s reaction?

Vincent D’Onofrio: We wanted this show to connect with the Netflix show. This show has more characters, a darker tone and a different approach to what we were trying to do before. We realised early on that we had to have strong conviction when it came to keeping the new show attached to the original.

Our goal was to do what the fans wanted.

Charlie Cox: I received a call in 2018 saying that the show was cancelled. From that moment onwards I believed the show was over until I got a call in 2020 from Kevin Feige saying, “Do you want to come back and do some more stuff with this character?” I was absolutely shocked. I didn't expect it.

We’re lucky to have partners at Marvel and I applaud them for trying to do something different but also for recognising that it wasn’t working he way that we'd hoped. They had the courage and foresight to make changes, which weren't easy or cheap.

Charlie Cox as Murdoch and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk (Supplied)

Was it easy to return to the skins of these characters for this new iteration?

D’Onofrio: I followed a similar approach to what I'd done originally. There are two aspects of my character I have to be comfortable with. One is his size, his posture and the way he moves. The other is his emotional life, his interior. It’s similar to the way I prepared for the Netflix show so it wasn’t hard to get back in the saddle again.

Cox: There were some changes to the way in which Matt had been living his life that were made for this show. There’s a time jump from the end of season 3 on Netflix to this show and in that time Matt makes changes to his life — he gives up a lot of the pro bono work he was doing as a lawyer, opens up a successful law firm and engages in a form of capitalism he hasn’t tried in the past. That impacts a lot of things — his attitude, his character, his wardrobe, the size of his apartment. It was fun to play with those ideas. A lot of that is a Band-Aid to suppressing feelings from circumstances that will be revealed.

To what extent do you think New York is a fundamental part of what drives the motivations of your characters within this narrative. Is the city a key character in the show?

Cox: It’s massive and can’t be understated. New York is Matt Murdoch’s greatest love and he will go to the ends of the Earth to prevent anything from happening that he perceives to be risking the integrity of the city he loves. The threat takes the shape of Wilson Fisk, in his mind at least. In terms of the practical elements of shooting we wouldn't have a popular, successful show without New York. You can't fake it elsewhere — not just the aesthetic but also the people. The way people move in New York, the way they walk down the street, the look on faces as they enter a coffee shop or a bodega, you can’t recreate it. New York is the principle character of our show.