After a brief appearance in She-Hulk, Charlie Cox is reprising his role as Matt Murdock, the devil of Hell’s Kitchen, in Daredevil: Born Again for Disney+ after playing him for three seasons on Netflix.
The devil of Hell’s Kitchen will be back thanks to Daredevil: Born Again, a Disney+ revival. But don’t expect Matt Murdock – even under his mask – to have his fist as heavy as in the Netflix version of Daredevil.
In an interview with NME, Charlie Cox – who played the blind vigilante for three seasons on Netflix – clarified that fans of the original series should expect some similarities with the Disney+ series, in terms of tone.
But the actor nevertheless issued a warning: even if according to him, “this character works best when addressing a slightly more mature audience“, things will definitely be different.”My instinct tells me that on Disney+ it will be dark, but probably not as gory“, did he declare.
Fans of the Netflix original series were particularly attached to this more mature, gritty, and brutal version of Daredevil. A recipe that has been extended throughout the Defenders universe, including series like Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.
Cox is aware of fan expectations, but feels it’s not necessarily a bad idea to tone down some of that violence and make the character and the series more accessible to a wider audience.
“I would tell those people that we have already done that. Let’s take the things that really worked, but can we expand the scope? Can we appeal to a slightly younger audience without losing what works?“
Born Again will therefore see Charlie Cox return in the role of Matt Murdock, lawyer by day and the man without fear by night, but also Vincent D’Onofrio who will take on the costume of Wilson Fisk alias Kingpin.
Marvel
Not a sequel
The actor, however, claims that it is not a sequel to the Netflix series. “The fact that Kevin [Feige, le président de Marvel Studios, ndlr] talking about it as a season 1, rather than a season 4, makes me feel like it’s a whole new story“, Cox told ScreenRant.
Netflix’s Daredevil series, created by Drew Goddard and showrun in its first season by Steven S. DeKnight, was canceled in late 2018 before news broke of Marvel Television’s closure and incorporation into Marvel Studios.
For years, fans have been campaigning for Murdock’s return, and Kevin Feige confirmed the news in December 2021, alongside the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Murdock’s cameo marks the character’s first big-screen appearance in the MCU. He then appeared in several episodes of the series She-Hulk: Lawyer this year.
However, it will take patience to see the series. Charlie Cox describes the lengthy filming process: “They told me: ‘We’re going to shoot in 2023’. I said, ‘Great, when?’. They said, ‘All year 2023’. I start shooting in February and finish in December.“