Daredevil fans may want to sit down for this one.
Heading into the strikes, Daredevil: Born Again was well into production as Charlie Cox returned for an all-new series based on the classic Marvel character. The show was expected to run for an ambitious 18 episodes and would spend a considerable amount of time with the actor’s portrayal of Matt Murdock: blind lawyer by day, brutal vigilante by night. Not anymore.
According to a new report, both the head writers and directors for Born Again have been let go after Kevin Feige and Marvel execs reviewed the footage that was shot. They did not like what they saw.
The show is Marvel’s first to feature a hero who already had a successful series on Netflix, running three seasons. But sources say that [Matt] Corman and [Chris] Ord crafted a legal procedural that did not resemble the Netflix version, known for its action and violence. Cox didn’t even show up in costume until the fourth episode. Marvel, after greenlighting the concept, found itself needing to rethink the original intention of the show.
Corman and Ord will stay on as executive producers as Marvel searches for new writers and directors to give a creative reboot to Born Again, which was already a reboot to begin with.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the freak out over Daredevil: Born Again stems from larger issues with how Marvel has approached its Disney+ output, which has been a series of diminishing returns plagued by a revolving door of writers and directors. The issue reportedly reached a head with Secret Invasion, which saw its preproduction turn into a mess of warring factions only to deliver a lackluster series that received tepid reviews.
As Marvel revamps its approach to Disney+, the studio is reportedly looking to move away from shooting entire limited series without a pilot and moving into more traditional serialized television.
“Marvel wants to create shows that run several seasons, where characters can take time to develop relationships with the audience rather than feeling as if they are there as a setup for a big crossover event,” THR reports.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
