Marvel Television’s action-adventure series “Daredevil: Born Again” will premiere on Disney+ in the Philippines on March 5.
The series stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin.
In “Daredevil: Born Again,” Murdock, a blind lawyer with heightened abilities, is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Fisk pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.
“Daredevil: Born Again” (Disney+)
It also stars Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki M. James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, with Ayelet Zurer and Jon Bernthal.
In a press conference, Cox, D’Onofrio, executive producers, showrunner and directors talked about the series.
About his character Murdoch in the new series, Cox said that “some time has passed since the end of the series three that we did back that ended in 2018. You know, early on, Matt has suffered a trauma. And that has meant that he’s had to kind of rethink and re-find his identity in a way that is probably more profound than we’ve seen before. He ends up going down a path which I think is best described as a Band-Aid that will have to be ripped off slowly and painfully.”
He added, “And but, you know, for fans of the original show, it’s the same Matt Murdock, essentially, just, you know, influenced by his experiences.”
On Murdoch and Fisk, D’Onofrio said, “Although, we’re trying to live in the daylight, the two of us. We have that in common. We’re broken men. If you can think about the metaphor of vampires trying to live in the daylight, it’s a struggle that they’re going through. He’s got his thing and I’ve got my plan and, you know, you can’t put us together in the same scene a lot 'cause it’s not as powerful if you do that.”
Over the last 10 years, the two stars said they have done about five to six scenes together.
“Probably like five or six only. But it’s so good when you do. It’s good for us as the actors, you know, ‘cause we just like doing scenes together,” said D’Onofrio.
He credited executive producer and showrunner Dario Scardapane for bringing together Murdoch and Fisk together early on in the new series.
“And something that we haven’t done before. And huge credit to Dario and the producers who came up with this idea, whoever it was. But bringing us together early on in this new season is something we haven’t done before. And putting him in a position where they are having to trust one another’s ability to stay true to who they say they are. And it just lends itself to a slightly different dynamic for a scene,” said Cox.
Fisk is described as one of the most compelling villains on TV loved by fans.
D’Onofrio said fans are drawn to the character because “I think people like bad boys. Yeah. And I also think that, you know, it’s obvious, but, you know, for centuries and centuries crime novels, stories about badness, are very popular with people because they can create a distance from the danger and be excited by it. And so, our show is the same kind of thing. It's a urban story and it’s got that crime element, big time.”
“And then you have a hero or a savior of some kind in it, and it always works. People love it. And I think that we have the opportunity and I think what Dario has done with this season that people are about to see is like the ultimate of that, I think,” he added.
“Daredevil: Born Again” (Disney+)
He said Fink is on a mission with a new plan.
“First thing he’s gotta do is sort things out with his wife, ‘cause he’s been gone for a while. That turns into something extremely exciting. And then there’s the other side, which is he has a plan. His plan is to stretch his reach. It’s the beginning of that, how far he’s gonna go for control. And it’s a struggle because he has to live in the daylight to do that,” he said.
Fans of “Daredevil” have high expectations of the new series. About “Daredevil,” Scardapane said, “I think, I was saying it earlier, the thing about Daredevil there’s a mixture of heart and muscle. And there’s a humanity to both of these characters and there’s a struggle that both of them have with their kind of dark passengers. And then they’re battling each other. So, you always kind of try and find that humanity inside of a heightened world with action that every time is trying to reset the bar for television. So, you kind of have to use a whole bunch of different tools. You wanna do really, really high-octane action, you wanna have moments of depth of character, and then you wanna put these two [grinding?] off each other across the city.”
For the action sequences in “Daredevil: Born Again,” executive producer Sana Amanat said the goal was to make them as good as the previous series.
“I mean, as a fan, that was my first thing, was like, we have to make sure the action is hopefully as good as the old show. If we could make that bar, that would be amazing. And I also just really appreciate seeing the two of them performing and doing a great job. I mean, it’s transformative, what they do with the action,” said Amanat.
Amanat added, “But we just hope people really will appreciate how hard we worked on it this season, how hard they worked on it this season. And if you can get the same joy, we’ll be very happy.”
Executive producer Brad Winderbaum praised Cox and D’Onofrio for the portrayal of their characters in the series.
“And Charlie and Vincent just inhabit those characters like, you know, better than anyone. When I picture Matt Murdock, even when I’m reading a comic or reading something about Wilson Fisk, I think about these two actors in those roles. And just, you know, there are so many tragic storylines in the Daredevil comics that challenge Matt and Wilson. And that is something that we’re I think honoring in a massive way in ‘Born Again,’” he said.
On what takeaways fans can get from “Daredevil: Born Again,” D’Onofrio said, “I just hope they’re as excited about it as we are and that it’s, you know, totally entertaining for them.”
“And that they’re happy that they just finished the series, you know, ‘cause we all worked really hard on it and we all believed in the fans and we worked towards what we felt they wanted the whole time. And I, you know, so my hopes are that they just thoroughly enjoy it, you know,” he said.
Cox said, “Oh gosh. There’s a thirst. When we speak to fans, when we have that interaction, there is a thirst for a quality and identity, a fabric of the show that we’ve had in the past.”
“That you can’t necessarily articulate it, put your finger on it. But there’s a, you get this sense of like a worried desire for is it gonna be there? And I hope they feel that it is. I think it is. And every now and again I meet a fan, and they go is it, you know, is the show as dark? And when I hear that, I have like a smile, because I’m like yeah. You’re gonna be okay. We got ya,” he said.
“Daredevil: Born Again” (Disney+)