Daredevil will need to be born again. Marvel Studios has gutted the once-planned Daredevil: Born Again and is planning a “creative reboot” of the series.
In a story from The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel released head writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman, signifying a new direction for the full-length introduction of Daredevil. With fewer than half of the series’ 18 episodes being shot, Marvel also let go of the directors who were awaiting production on their episodes.
According to THR, Marvel executives including Kevin Feige felt that the approach to Born Again wasn’t working and came across as a legal procedural, with Cox not donning the Daredevil costume until the fourth episode. The studio is now looking for new writers and directors for Born Again, and “plans to keep some scenes and episodes, though other serialized elements will be injected.”
THR notes Daredevil is not be the first Marvel series to have undergone drastic behind-the-scenes changes, with Secret Invasion cited in the story as one of the biggest offenders alongside the likes of Moon Knight and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
As such, Marvel is also switching up its approach to TV production, and will now have proper showrunners that write pilots & show bibles. With that, Marvel Television will focus on multiseason serialized TV rather than limited series. The story states that Marvel wants shows where “characters can take time to develop relationships with the audience rather than feeling as if they are there as a setup for a big crossover event.”
“We’re trying to marry the Marvel culture with the traditional television culture,” says Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s head of streaming, television & animation. “It comes down to, ‘How can we tell stories in television that honor what’s so great about the source material?’
