Vincent D’onofrio says the reports about Marvel’s “Daredevil: Born Again” undergoing a creative overhaul are not actually a big deal, as such changes are common in the film and television industry. D’onofrio is reprising his role of Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk in the Marvel series opposite Charlie Cox as Daredevil.
“Unless you really know what’s going there’s a chance you could be wrong about this statement,” D’onofrio wrote on X in response to a fan saying one of the actor’s original posts celebrating “Born Again” had “aged poorly” in light of the overhaul news. “We are going to bring forward the best series we can. One we can be proud of. Have some trust my friend, trust.”
“Every cool project I’ve been involved with has evolved constantly during pre-production, production and post,” D’onofrio went on to explain. “It’s just reported on these days as if it’s big news. It’s not. It’s a bunch of creatives doing their best to get it right. It’s a constant in this business. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Frankly I’d be worried if we were settling for less.”
“Daredevil: Born Again” is designed to be an 18-episode series, but filming on the project stopped in June amid the WGA strike. It will not continue until the current SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved. As confirmed by PvNew, less than half of the episodes for “Born Again” were filmed before the production shutdown. Those episodes are now being overhauled, with only some elements of the already shot material remaining. The entire show is taking a new creative direction after parting ways withhead writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman. Marvel is currently seeking new writers to revamp the show.
Marvel fans have been anticipating “Daredevil: Born Again,” as it continues the story of Cox’s superhero and D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, which first started in the three-season Netflix series “Daredevil.” Cox picked up the role of Daredevil again in Marvel projects like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “She-Hulk,” while D’onofrio returned in “Hawkeye.” Now both characters are getting featured in their own series.
“Despite my feelings of corporate shenanigans, I was truly excited to see what the new creative team was whipping up,” wrote Steven DeKnight, showrunner on the first season of the Netflix show, about the overhaul news. “My heart goes out to all who were affected by this decision. Tomorrow is a better day.”
DeKnight had previously called out the series when he criticized Disney for running a scam with the upcoming reboot project.
“It’s an old Disney scam where they slightly rename a series to reset contract terms back to first season,” DeKnight wrote on X/Twitter. “Needs to be addressed by all the guilds/unions and crushed!”
“From what I understand, I’m not going to see a penny from ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ because they added the ‘Born Again’ and can claim it’s a completely different show,” he explained. “You know, with the exact same two lead actors (who I love!) playing Daredevil and Fisk.”
There’s currently no production re-start date for “Born Again” given the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
