★★★★★ Daredevil Born Again, created by Matt Corman, Chris Ord, Dario Scardapane
Kingpin becomes mayor of New York
Daredevil Born Again
Created by Matt Corman, Chris Ord, Dario Scardapane
Kingpin becomes mayor of New York
I am an MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) fan. My very favorite of all the many MCU properties is the Daredevil franchise. Daredevil is the superhero who, in his ordinary life, is blind lawyer Matt Murdock, played in the MCU by Charlie Cox. His opposition, Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, also gets (and deserves) top billing.
My first exposure to Daredevil was the Netflix series that ran from 2015-2018. (Now available on Disney+.) I have never read the comic books as a kid—Comic books cost money I didn’t have and library books were free. Netflix cancelled after three seasons. Daredevil had cameos in a few other MCU franchises: She-Hulk (also a lawyer), Echo, and also the film Spider-Man: No Way Home, the only appearance of Daredevil in an MCU film, as far as I know. He also had a run in the 2017 series The Defenders.
As the title suggests, Daredevil: Born Again brings Murdock and Fisk back after a long absence from the screen. Two seasons are available to view. Season 3 is coming—it has mostly already been shot and is scheduled for March 2027. There is also a podcast about the making of Season 2, which I listened to in full.
I really enjoyed Seasons 1 and 2 and will certainly watch Season 3. D’Onofrio and Cox are extraordinary actors who have grown into these roles over the course of 11 years now. We also have Ayelet Zurer as Kingpin’s beloved wife Vanessa Fisk, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Wilson Bethel as Bullseye/Benjamin Poindexter, and John Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher. They are all excellent. I was also surprised by Michael Gandolfini (son of James Gandolfini of Sopranos fame). He plays Kingpin’s social media fixer with disarming naivete.
The action sequences deserve special mention. Some of the podcasts go into the making of what they call oners—long action sequences stitched together as if they were filmed in a single take. These are amazing.