Daredevil: Born Again Trailer is Out for Blood
Marvel is embracing the devil on their shoulder. Today, the studio released a full trailer for Daredevil: Born Again, the revival of the Netflix series coming to Disney+. Picking up several years after Daredevil season 3, Daredevil: Born Again follows Matt Murdock after he stopped being Daredevil, but when he learns that Wilson Fisk, the crime lord known as the Kingpin, is running for mayor of New York City, he’s drawn back into action. Charlie Cox returns as Daredevil, with Vincent D’Onofrio as the Kingpin; also back are Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk, Wilson Bethel as Bullseye, and Jon Bernthal as the Punisher. They’re joined by Margarita Levieva, Genneya Walton, Michael Gandolfini, Kamar de los Reyes, and Harris Yulin. Daredevil: Born Again will arrive on Disney+ on March 4, 2025, and you can see the trailer below:
The Daredevil: Born Again trailer feels like Marvel is trying to reassure fans that this is the Daredevil they want after having to retool it because viewers weren’t thrilled when they decided they were turning it into Ally McBeal. There’s plenty of blood and violence, a shot of Karen and Foggy – who were originally excluded from the series – the Punisher getting ready to lash out at crime (when he’s done scaring the pants off Matt), Bullseye prepared for round two, and the brewing showdown between Daredevil and the Kingpin, the latter of whom is kicking ass instead of getting humiliated by girls. And on the surface, it looks great; the tone is very much in keeping with the Netflix show, which is what we all wanted, and there are subtle and not-so-subtle suggestions of what’s to come. I’m pleased to see they got Ayelet Zurer back to play Vanessa, the Kingpin’s now wife; I like Sandrine Holt, who was to replace her, but I don’t know why they didn’t just bring the excellent Zurer back in the first place. Then again, I don’t know why they made any of the stupid decisions they did right off the bat, like ditching Karen and Foggy, but ultimately, the end result is what will matter, and it’s looking better as time goes along.
I still have a few worries, though. This whole business of Matt retiring as Daredevil made me roll my eyes. I’m so beyond tired of this overused plot point; for a change, I’d love to see a hero stick with his mission instead of abandoning it and having to dust his suit out of the cobwebs. Maybe they’ll do it well – the impression I get is that Matt caused a death, and that’s what shook him enough to get him to hang up his horns, and I imagine Fisk’s rise to political power will be what brings him back – but it’s too played out at this point to generate much interest. And it looks like he’s not alone because Frank Castle has a full beard once again; has he remained the Punisher for more than five minutes since the end of Daredevil season 2? (One of these days, I have to write a whole piece on this trope, which I call “The Perpetual Origin.”) It’s like they’re petrified of having anything happen between seasons, so life for the characters has to stop when we’re not looking. Hopefully, Daredevil: Born Again can dispense with this stuff early on.
On the plus side, I’m glad the tone is as it should be: dark, serious, and violent, unlike the silly comedy they tried to turn it into. On X, RazörFist said it appears to be largely based on Charles Soule’s run on the comic book; I’ve never read that, but looking into it, that appears to be the run where Kingpin ran for mayor. (You can see RazörFist’s review of Charles Soule’s Daredevil work in the video above.) Amusingly, before Marvel revamped the series, Daredevil: Born Again was going to be based on Mark Waid’s lighter, more comedic (and SJW-heavy) run, which directly preceded Soule’s; it’s like they literally said, “Next!” And not to denigrate Soule, whom RazörFist says is very good, but this is another instance of Marvel Studios believing comics were invented in 2012 because they refuse to reach back any further for inspiration. If it’s a good story, that’s fine, but sooner or later, they’re going to run out of modern material, and hopefully, they’ll realize there’s a wealth of storytelling they haven’t touched yet.
Nevertheless, I’m fairly excited for Daredevil: Born Again, and even more so after this trailer. If it were only Matt and Fisk sitting in a diner, sharing a cup of coffee, and catching up, I’d have been happy, but I love the various elements coming together. Fisk rubbing his fingers against his palms as he talks to Matt is a nice detail; he’s making a concerted effort not to beat his archenemy to death in the middle of the diner, keeping the violent criminal at bay for appearance’s sake. I wonder if the divide between the criminal and the politician will be a theme; while I’m sure a plethora of jokes likening Fisk’s old job and his new one are incoming, the truth is that his mayoral prospects would be gone if he were to physically attack someone in public, especially a blind lawyer. Yet we’ve seen how his anger can overtake his better judgement, going all the way back to the third episode of Daredevil, when his first date with Vanessa is interrupted by a Russian gangster, and Fisk’s response is to decapitate the guy with a car door. For how long will Fisk be able to keep that side of himself in check? Then, there’s Matt seeming to slowly be drawn back into crime fighting; I said I’m tired of this storyline, and I am, but that doesn’t mean Daredevil: Born Again can’t execute it well. The action in the trailer seems to build, from Matt being attacked by some thugs while dressed as a civilian to Daredevil breaking bones. And I can’t wait to see Bullseye again, especially if a costume is coming with him – and judging by that shot of him in the shadows, I’m betting it is. I really want this show to be good, more than perhaps anything else Marvel is doing right now. Part of that may be because, unlike the rest, I think this has a good chance of recapturing the old magic. My fingers are crossed that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen can pull out a miracle.
Let us know what you thought of the Daredevil: Born Again trailer in the comments!
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