The expectations for Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again were sky-high before its premiere on Disney+, given how well the OG Netflix series turned out. While Marvel Studios’ take on the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen does a great job of standing on its own feet and bringing in some fresh storylines, it still falls short in many departments.
What really stands out in Daredevil: Born Again are the leading actors’ gripping performances—particularly Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio. Both guys look like they didn’t miss a beat after the OG series. Wilson Bethel’s Benjamin Poindexter (aka Bullseye) also comes off just as menacing as before in this latest chapter.
The new entry doesn’t shy away from violence, bloodiness, and hard-hitting action sequences, which is a huge sigh of relief—especially after everything the series went through during filming, including a complete creative overhaul from Kevin Feige.
Moreover, some of the new characters, such as Margarita Levieva (Heather Glenn) and Michael Gandolfini (Daniel Blake), have definitely made a positive impact on the show. Their performances in Born Again often help fill the gaps where the season feels a bit off.
But there’s no denying that Daredevil: Born Again isn’t without its flaws. The shortcomings may not be numerous, but they’re hard to ignore.
The first episode of Born Again raised the stakes from 0 to 100 in no time, ultimately leading to a pretty cool single-shot fight sequence between Matt Murdock and Poindexter. Amidst the chaos unleashed by Poindexter, we suddenly witness Foggy Nelson’s (Elden Henson) tragic and shocking death. No one—and we mean no one—saw that coming.
Foggy’s demise, unsurprisingly, pissed off a lot of the OG show’s fanbase, given how popular he is and how important he was to the lives of both Matt Murdock and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll).
Another surprising thing about Born Again is the noticeable lack of screen time for Karen. Yes, there was a time when she was considered an irritating character—but time heals all wounds. Now, Karen is seen as just as crucial to Matt as Foggy is (or was).
There’s a large section of the fanbase clearly unhappy with Karen’s reduced presence. There are possibly two reasons for this: either she’ll get a bigger role in Born Again Season 2 (which has already been announced), or her role was trimmed to make room for the new characters. But considering how important Karen is to Matt—and how fans have come around to her over the years—it’s likely she’ll return in Season 2 with a much bigger role.
The fight sequences and associated violence in Daredevil: Born Again look stylish, cool, and impactful. However, they also come off a bit haphazard, mainly due to poor CGI. In some scenes, the CGI looks really sloppy, ultimately reducing the gritty vibe that was a hallmark of the Netflix version.
Many fans were unsure whether Disney could live up to the quality of Netflix’s Daredevil, which Born Again was intended to loosely continue as a “Season 4.” Sadly, those doubts have turned out to be well-founded, highlighting ongoing issues within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The new show only shares surface-level similarities with its predecessor and fails to capture the essence that made the original so beloved.
All of this has clearly affected Daredevil: Born Again’s viewership. According to Nielsen, the show didn’t even make it into their top 10 list for March 3–9, 2025. What’s even more baffling is that Born Again drew only 7.5 million views in its first five days—substantially lower than Agatha, which somehow pulled over 9.3 million views in the same timeframe.
What Marvel Studios sorely needed—especially right now—was a Daredevil: Born Again that wowed audiences and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Netflix show. That kind of reception could’ve softened the blow from the disappointing Captain America: Brave New World and maybe even built more hype for Thunderbolts by re-engaging fans. Let’s see what happens now! Stay tuned for more updates.
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