It’s the panel we’ve all been waiting for! Yes Marvel and head honcho Kevin Feige have returned to Hall H, and as expected they’ve teased the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the panel opened Feige revealed the entire slate for Phase 5, which will begin in 2023. One of the most exciting tidbits was the announcement of the full title of the Daredevil Disney+ series. It’ll take from one of the Man Without Fear’s most famous comics arcs: Daredevil: Born Again.
Born Again is one of the darkest tales in Daredevil’s comic book canon. Created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, the series focuses on the fall of Daredevil at the hands of the Kingpin.
Born Again is one of the darkest tales in Daredevil’s comic book canon. Created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, the series focuses on the fall of Daredevil at the hands of the Kingpin.
It’s most notable for its treatment of Karen Page, played in the Netflix series by Deborah Ann Woll (who is not confirmed to return but seems very likely too now). In the famed story arc she struggles with addiction and even becomes a sex worker. Kingpin uses this against Daredevil as part of his plan to destroy the hero of Hell’s Kitchen. As is the way with many Miller-penned stories about women, it’s hardly an empathetic portrayal. Interestingly though, the notion of Karen as an addict was already part in the original Netflix Daredevil series, in the character’s past. So it’ll be intriguing to see how Disney recontextualizes this controversial but fan favorite arc.
It could definitely be the case that Disney is just taking the title and putting it here. It’s very fitting for a reboot/continuation. But Vincent D’Onofrio has confirmed to return as Kingpin. We can therefore assume that we’ll at least see that classical rivalry reignite. If it continues the story of the Netflix series, Kingpin could be back trying to get vengeance on Daredevil. Something very exciting is that the Disney+ Kingpin that we saw in Hawkeye was far more of a comic book iteration than the Netflix show. Superpowered and almost immortal. He’ll be a true challenge to Matt Murdock when he hits the Disney+ streets in the next couple of years.
The 18 episode series will debut in Spring 2024.
Featured Image: Marvel Studios
