Disney Scraps Beloved Marvel Franchise Reboot Plan

in Marvel

Charlie Cox as Daredevil with the Born Again logo

Credit: Inside the Magic

Is this goodbye for the MCU’s planned series reboot?

(right to left) Charlie Cox as Daredevil and Matt Murdock, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, edited
Credit: Marvel Studios, Netflix

Related: Disney’s Bizarre ‘Daredevil’ Recast Stirs Fan Debate

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) prepares for Phase Five, marking the second chapter of the Multiverse Saga, Marvel Studios is expanding its narrative horizon by incorporating a variety of superhero teams beyond the central Avengers. Kevin Feige disclosed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 that the MCU will unveil teams tasked with addressing a broad range of threats, spanning from “cosmic-level” to “supernatural” and “street-level” challenges.

Steering this diversification of superhero storylines on Earth are none other than Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil, appointed as the street-level “team leaders” by Marvel. Naturally, Marvel Studios faces the task of reintroducing the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen to the current MCU audience, considering the character’s absence since the Netflix Marvel Daredevil (2015) series was left in limbo in 2018.

However, Kevin Feige reassured fans by announcing the return of Daredevil in a unique 18-episode Disney+ (Disney Plus) series titled Daredevil: Born Again. The series is set to showcase Charlie Cox reprising his role as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, with Vincent D’Onofrio returning as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, and Jon Bernthal portraying Frank Castle/the Punisher.

Despite this earlier promise, it seems as if Disney is going back on their word and scrapping the idea of a Daredevil reboot in favor of a more Netflix-esque “Season 4”.

charlie cox (left) and vincent d'onofrio (right) in daredevil prison scene
Credit: Netflix/Marvel Studios

Despite the promised exploration of the long-standing conflict between Daredevil and Wilson Fisk, with Jon Bernthal reprising his role as the antihero Frank Castle, also known as Punisher, noticeable changes in the show’s dynamics worried fans about the direction the show seemed to be heading in. Notable adjustments in casting, including Sandrine Holt taking on the role of Vanessa Fisk instead of the original actress Ayelet Zurer, prompted apprehension within the Marvel fan community. These changes have ignited discussions regarding perceived unnecessary alterations made by Kevin Feige and his team.

It’s possible that these palpable fan concerns (and Marvel Studios’ recent poor reception as a whole) pushed Feige to make some decisive changes.

Goodbye, Daredevil Reboot?

Recently, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel Studios’ highly-anticipated Daredevil: Born Again would resume filming following Kevin Feige’s total overhaul of the creative team and scrapping of the original Born Again script. Previously, the show had filmed a good nine episodes worth of content until Marvel higher-ups deemed the project unsuitable, firing the original group of creatives and throwing out the script to start anew.

Feige had initially imagined the Daredevil: Born Again series to more-or-less act as a soft reboot for the franchise, as the Netflix-era Marvel television shows were then deemed “non-canon” to the mainline MCU — likely relegated to an adjacent universe in the Multiverse.

Now, it appears that even that idea is going out the window.

Charlie Cox as Matt Murdoch fixing his tie in front of New York City
Credit: Netflix

Related: Feige Talks ‘Spider-Man’, Tom Holland and Charlie Cox to Lead Marvel’s “Street-Level” Heroes

In early 2024, Marvel announced that all of the Netflix The Defenders Marvel TV series were now canon to the MCU — including Jessica Jones (2015-2019) with Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Luke Cage (2016-2018) with Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Iron Fist (2017-2018) with Finn Jones as Danny Rand/Iron Fist, and of course, Daredevil (2015-2018) with Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil.

Following this news, The Hollywood Reporter now shares that the much-praised Daredevil‘s original stunt coordinator, Philip Silvera, who gave the show its signature style (and famous “hallway fight”), is returning for Born Again.

Furthermore, Disney will reduce the episode count to something lower (likely 13) instead of 18, following the original Netflix show more closely.

On top of all of that, it was recently reported that Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Hensen) are slated to return after much fan campaigning to bring Daredevil’s best friends and Matt Murdock’s law buddies back into the fray.

Considering all of these changes bringing the Born Again trajectory closer to where the original Netflix show appeared to be headed, it genuinely seems as if Marvel Studios are now producing Daredevil‘s effective Season 4.

Of course, only time will tell if Feige and the new writers choose to stay faithful to the original Daredevil series, but there is every indication so far that this is exactly what Marvel is planning.

Do you think Daredevil: Born Again will basically be “Season 4 on Disney+“? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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