‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Press Conference Key Takeaways

Daredevil: Born Again is one of the most hotly anticipated upcoming TV series in a long, long while. Not least of which is because it will basically serve as a pair of finale seasons for the Daredevil TV series. You know, the one from Netflix? The one that transferred over to Disney+ when Disney got the licensing rights for it back? Yeah, it sucks for those of us who were watching it on Netflix, but alas, that’s franchise rights for you. Oh well, at least we’re going to get a continuation of that series instead of an outright cancellation. Complete with the same cast working in it to boot, even if the crew is different this time around.

Why am I mentioning that cast, you might ask? Well, mostly because some specific members of the cast (and some important crew members to boot) are part of a virtual press conference that the official Marvel podcast (with Sade Spence as the moderator) held with them. Those members of the cast and crew consist of Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock / Daredevil), Vincent D’Onofrio (Wilson Fisk / Kingpin), Dario Scardapane (Executive Producer), Justin Benson (Executive Producer, Director (eps. 101, 108-109)), Aaron Moorhead (Executive Producer, Director (eps. 101, 108-109)), Sana Amanat (Executive Producer), and Brad Winderbaum (Executive Producer).

So, what did they all discuss at this press conference? Well, many, many things. However, they did discuss some rather important points during that conference, all relating to Daredevil: Born Again, of course. Here are some key takeaways from that press conference below:

Daredevil: Born Again Press Conference: Key Takeaways

Daredevil vs. Kingpin

Both Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio emphasize the relationship Daredevil and Kingpin will have in Daredevil: Born Again. It’s not hard to see why. The two archnemeses have had a long and colorful history with each other, which is quite ironic given that they’ve only had five or six scenes together in the 10 years the series has run. And yet, it’s the fact that they’ve met with each other so little that makes each meeting all the more powerful.

D’Onofrio describes the relationship as the best. He describes Daredevil and Kingpin as being “vampires” struggling to live in the daylight. They’re “broken men” because of their respective experiences, and that’s what connects them so closely. It’s almost like a Batman and Joker dynamic here. Except, there’s one key thing that Kingpin is interested in that the Joker isn’t: redemption. Or at least, the outward appearance of such.

Kingpin Going Clean?

Vincent D’Onofrio lets slip a bit of what Kingpin wants to do in Daredevil: Born Again. You know, beyond the stuff in the trailer about him running for mayor of New York City. Apparently, this is all part of a plan for him to look like he’s turning over a new leaf. Both to the public eye and maybe even to himself.

As part of that plan, Kingpin first wants to “sort things out with his wife” Vanessa (played by Ayelet Zurer) due to him being gone for a while. Apparently, this will turn into “something extremely exciting“, which might mean something really good or something really bad for Vanessa.

The second part of that plan is for Kingpin to “stretch his reach“. All part of his plan to see how much control he could get over his new life and how far he was willing to go to get that control. This will be a major struggle because, as D’Onofrio points out, he has to live in the “daylight” now, in the public eye, where anything he does can backfire on him if the public doesn’t like it. There are consequences to a vampire walking around in daylight, after all. And Kingpin will really have to struggle with his “dark passengers” in him as much as Daredevil will.

The Tone of New York City

The entirety of Daredevil: Born Again will take place in New York City, just as the original series did. As such, the city itself will be a central part of the show. In fact, the cast even mentions that NYC would at times provide just the right amount of fog for the cinematic scenes.

All of which affect the tone of the series. You need look no further than the courthouses and police stations the series usually takes place in. They made it look like you were actually stepping into a courthouse: a place where “people go to have their dreams die“. It’s not surprising then that this series will have politics, law, and institutions be central parts of the story.

The Best Version of Daredevil?

Paulos Quinteros of La Cuarta, Chile asked a very interesting question for Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio. That question is if they felt any pressure to produce the best version of Daredevil for Disney in order to live up to Frank Miller’s original comic book version of the character.

As it turns out, the answer is a definite “absolutely”. In fact, they reveal that Frank Miller himself came to the set on the last day of shooting, so there’s quite a bit of pressure there. In fact, they feel so much pressure that they feel the need to…not quite reinvent Murdock, but to depict the “worst version” of him for Daredevil: Born Again. All to be able to depict the best version of him by sheer contrast. He does have his dark passengers, too, and the darkest shadow can only be cast by the brightest light, after all.

Daredevil x Kingpin IRL Dynamics

It seems we’re not the only ones who thought the Daredevil and Kingpin dynamic was fun to watch. Rachel Leishman from The Mary Sue asked if playing the archnemeses was as fun to play as it was to watch.

In fact, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio both absolutely had fun playing their respective characters. So much so that their acting has spilled over into their real life dynamics. They apparently now have a love-hate relationship with each other due to playing the hero and villain to each other. However, the one thing they do admit is that the 10 years of acting together has made them into “very good friends” with each other.

The Return of the Punisher

The last question is from Stephanie Fuzzo (sic) from Tele Los Seres (sic), who asks specifically about the Frank Castle / Punisher (played by Jon Bernthal). He made a surprise appearance in the Daredevil series and will be returning for Daredevil: Born Again. Thus, it’s only natural that she would want to know more about them. Specifically, about his relationship with Matt Murdock.

Alas, Jon Bernthal isn’t here to answer that question. However, Charlie Cox is present. According to him, he gets along great with Bernthal. Both in real life as friends, as well as in-character as Daredevil. However, he also mentions that Frank Castle has a tendency to pull Matt into being a Daredevil that he’s “frightened of and excited by”.

For spoiler reasons, Cox does not go into what that means. However, it makes us all excited for when we finally get to see Daredevil: Born Again on March 4, 2025. We can watch it only on Disney+.

Tune back in to THS to find out more about Daredevil: Born Again and other Marvel series when we do.