The Marvel Comics-inspired series Daredevil moved from Netflix to Disney+. It gained a new name, Daredevil: Born Again, but something else may have been lost.
Super Lawyer
The character's origin, a story written by Stan Lee and Bill Everett in 1940, is a tragic one. It involves a boy named Matt Murdock, son of a New York boxer, saving a blind man on the road –- only to be blinded himself by radioactive isotopes in the process.
Those same isotopes heigten his other senses, including giving him a different kind of vision.
Upon reaching adulthood, Murdock, raised Catholic, becomes the Daredevil, fighting crime in New York City's Hell's Kitchen and wearing pointy devil horns on his head.
He’s also a lawyer. A bit strange to be punching baddies? Yes, and that is exactly what long-time comic book artist Frank Miller wanted to flesh out.
In 1993, Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. both worked on a newer comic-book series, or "run," called Man Without Fear. In this run, Miller insists upon Daredevil’s inability to "turn the other cheek" (as Catholics are told to do), which leads to Murdock questioning his own Catholic roots.
This popular story was the basis for Netflix's 2015-2018 comics-inspired TV series, Daredevil, which is the predecessor to the newest seriesm Daredevil: Born Again. Still following? Great.
There’s Two of Them?!
The first series iteration came from Netflix (and make no mistake, none of the Daredevil series is for family viewing. These shows -- with their language and violence -- are for adults.).
Show creator Drew Goddard (writer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ridley Scott’s The Martian, and now the hit film Project Hail Mary), and showrunner Steven DeKnight (also a writer for Buffy as well as creating the series Spartacus), were praised for their efforts in adapting Frank Miller’s beloved Catholic superhero into television -- especially since the 2003 film version with Ben Affleck didn’t go very well (42% on Rotten Tomatoes).
Although he was a super-vigilante, Daredevil clung to an element of his Catholic upbringing. He would happily beat up the bad guys, but he didn't kill them.
That caused an internal conflict about right and wrong. And, it put Daredevil at odds with fellow vigilante The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), who had no issue at all with killing.
That led to a confrontation on a rooftop about the morality of killing (language warning):
Netflix's Daredevil ran for three seasons, before it -- along with all the rest of Netflix's Marvel-themed shows -- were canceled.
Round Two
In 2025, Daredevil (Charlie Cox) returned for Daredevil: Born Again, this time on Disney+ (Disney having acquired Marvel Entertainment).
Dario Scardapane (writer and executive producer for Netflix’s The Punisher series) is at the helm of this new production. He was inspired by the same comic book writer, Frank Miller, who took over the Daredevil comics in 1981.
For the title of his version of the series, Scardapane referenced the Daredevil comic Born Again (1986).
What Is Disney+'s Daredevil: Born Again About?
Launching on March 4, 2025, the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again picked up four to five years after the Netflix series.
Two of Murdock’s best friends, former law partner Franklin Percy "Foggy" (Elden Hensen) Nelson and office-manager-turned-reporter-turned-lawyer Karen Page (Deborah Ann Wolf), were with him in Hell’s Kitchen, when suddenly, Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), an old archenemy of his showed up.
An action-packed battle ensues between Daredevil and Bullseye, and in an act of rage, Murdock did the unthinkable: he tried to kill him.
From then on, the series continued to push the boundaries of Daredevil, harnessing his inner rage, and showing the effect on his identity.
Wilson Fisk, a k a Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), New York’s greatest crime boss, is also released from jail, but Murdock has a sneaking suspicion that he was up to no good.
The two shared a rather hostile conversation in a cafe, oozing with tension.
Kingpin agreed to stay out of crime, so long as Murdock kept off the mask. (But the show is called Daredevil – not “Murdock”).
Has He Lost His Soul?
The go-to conversation between Murdock and a priest, commonplace for Netflix’s iteration, was totally absent from season one of Born Again. Instead, Murdock just glanced in the direction of a church.
Some Catholics might not like that “lukewarmness.” But much like the rest of us, it takes time. Daredevil may be on a journey of self-discovery in the new series.
Born Again: Again – What’s Next?
Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again launches on March 24, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET. But, tonally, the direction of the new season has already been stated.
In an interview with SFX Magazine, Scardapane had this to say, “I know in my blood [Netflix] was much more noir and this show is more New York crime story.”
He adds, “It has a pace and a scope that, for a lot of reasons, Netflix wasn't able to do. They were very dark, cinematically, not necessarily story-wise, although there were some dark elements. We're much darker."
We’ll have to wait and see how dark Scardapane gets with the next season of Daredevil: Born Again. It could make or break how audiences view the devil-horned Catholic –- morality and all.
Now check out the trailer for Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again.
Image: Disney+
Christopher Parra is a recent graduate from John Paul the Great with a degree in Acting and Screenwriting. His favorite genres are psychological thriller and comedy. He wants to be a recurring character in a sitcom one day.
R.I.P. Chuck Norris & Clarence Gilyard: Departed Brothers in Christ
'Project Hail Mary': Sci-Fi Grace Among the Stars
Intentional Dating': Christian-Centric Podcast Aims to Save the Date
'Hoppers': Pixar's Action-Comedy Runs on Laughs, Scares & Empathy
Keep up with Family Theater Productions our website, Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.