Daredevil: Born Again

2025 Marvel Studios television series

7 min read

Daredevil: Born Again is an American television series created by Dario Scardapane and Matt Corman & Chris Ord for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Daredevil. It is the 13th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from Marvel Studios and was produced under its Marvel Television label. The series shares continuity with the films and television series of the MCU. Born Again is a revival and continuation of Daredevil (2015–2018), an earlier series produced by the previous Marvel Television production company and originally released on Netflix. Scardapane serves as showrunner with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead as lead directors.

Charlie Cox reprises his role as Matt Murdock / Daredevil from Marvel's Netflix television series and prior Marvel Studios productions, starring alongside Vincent D'Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki M. James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Ayelet Zurer, and Tony Dalton. Kamar de los Reyes, Jon Bernthal, and Mohan Kapur also star in the first season, while Krysten Ritter joins the cast for the second season.

Following the cancellation of Daredevil in 2018, Cox and D'Onofrio reprised their roles for Marvel Studios starting in 2021. A new Daredevil series entered development in early 2022, with Corman and Ord attached as head writers by that May. They gave the series an episodic structure and lighter tone than the Netflix series. Born Again was announced in July 2022 with a planned 18-episode first season. The subtitle references the 1986 comic book storyline "Born Again" by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, but the series does not adapt that storyline. Marvel Studios decided to overhaul the series by late September 2023 and released Corman and Ord. Scardapane, Benson, and Moorhead were hired the following month to make the series more serialized and directly connected to the Netflix series. The planned 18 episodes were split into two seasons. Filming occurs in New York.

Daredevil: Born Again premiered on Disney+ on March 4, 2025, with its first two episodes. The first season consists of nine episodes, and is part of Phase Five of the MCU. It received positive reviews from critics. The second season is set to premiere on March 24, 2026, and will consist of eight episodes. An untitled Punisher television special, starring Bernthal and conceived during filming of the first season, is also set to premiere in 2026 under the Marvel Studios Special Presentations banner. A third season is in development and set to premiere in March 2027. All three will be part of Phase Six of the MCU.

Premise

Daredevil: Born Again begins several years after the events of Daredevil (2015–2018), and a year after blind lawyer Matt Murdock stopped his activities as the masked vigilante Daredevil. In the first season, Murdock continues his fight for justice as a lawyer while former crime boss Wilson Fisk is elected mayor of New York City, putting the pair on a collision course. After Fisk consolidates power, declares martial law, and begins targeting vigilantes, the second season sees him hunting Daredevil. Murdock goes underground and gathers allies to resist Fisk's corruption and his Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF).

Cast and characters

Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil:
A blind lawyer with superhuman senses from Hell's Kitchen, New York, who leads a double life as a masked vigilante. Cox appreciated being able to first reprise his role from Marvel's Netflix television series in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), since he was able to have "a bit of fun" and see Murdock interact with characters that the original Daredevil (2015–2018) series was unable to feature. They could then "set our own tone" with Born Again and "explore and develop all of the possibilities of his life back in New York". Cox began training for the role by October 2022, focusing on mixed martial arts (MMA) in the hope of portraying Murdock as someone who has training in various fight styles that he can employ depending on who he is fighting, rather than just being an all-around brawler.
Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin:
A powerful businessman and crime lord, who is mayor of New York City. D'Onofrio said the tone for his character in the Disney+ series Echo (2024) would continue in Born Again, which he believed was how the character was best portrayed. After gaining 40 pounds (18 kg) for the role in Daredevil, D'Onofrio chose to wear a fat suit for Born Again as he had done starting with his appearance in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021). D'Onofrio thought the fat suit had progressed with modern technology to be lighter and more realistic, and he was happy not to have to gain the weight. D'Onofrio added that other techniques were used to "sell the size", and said the character's size at the end of the first season would be "more specific and more detailed" for reasons related to the second season.
Margarita Levieva as Heather Glenn:
A therapist and Murdock's new love interest. She and Murdock have differing views on vigilantism. Levieva believed Glenn was the first girlfriend Murdock was "truly committed to".
Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page:
A former reporter and Murdock's friend and partner at the Nelson, Murdock & Page law firm. Showrunner Dario Scardapane said Page was "the heart and soul of this mythology" and her interactions with Murdock bring more humanity out of him.
Elden Henson as Franklin "Foggy" Nelson:
Murdock's best friend and law partner. Cox described Nelson as "the heartbeat" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and viewed his death in the first season as "really hard".
Wilson Bethel as Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter / Bullseye:
A psychopathic assassin and former FBI agent who is a highly skilled marksman capable of using almost any object as a lethal projectile. After Dex masqueraded as Daredevil for Fisk in Daredevil, Fisk broke Dex's back and he underwent surgery that enhanced his body.
Zabryna Guevara as Sheila Rivera: Fisk's mayoral campaign director
Nikki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie: A former New York assistant district attorney and Murdock's new law partner at the law firm Murdock & McDuffie
Genneya Walton as BB Urich: A journalist for The BB Report and the niece of Ben Urich, who was killed by Fisk in Daredevil
Arty Froushan as Buck Cashman: Fisk's right-hand man
Clark Johnson as Cherry:
A retired New York Police Department (NYPD) officer who works as an investigator at Murdock & McDuffie. Johnson modeled Cherry after Roy Scheider's character Buddy "Cloudy" Russo in the film The French Connection (1971).
Michael Gandolfini as Daniel Blake: Fisk's protégé and member of his mayoral campaign
Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk:
Wilson's wife, who took over his criminal empire while he was away, leading to tension between the couple. Sandrine Holt was originally cast in the role for the series before Zurer, who portrayed Vanessa in Daredevil, was brought back after the creative overhaul of Born Again.
Kamar de los Reyes as Hector Ayala / White Tiger: A vigilante represented by Murdock whose enhanced powers come from a mystical amulet
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher: A vigilante who, following the brutal murder of his family, aims to fight the criminal underworld by any means necessary, no matter how lethal the results.
Mohan Kapur as Yusuf Khan: A Pakistani-American citizen from Jersey City who works as an assistant bank manager at New York Mutual and is the father of the superhero Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel
Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne / Swordsman: A wealthy socialite who is a masked, sword-wielding vigilante
Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones: A former superhero suffering from PTSD who runs her own detective agency and becomes Murdock's resistance ally. She has superhuman strength and limited flight abilities.