Order in the courthouse, because Charlie Cox is back on screens in the new series Daredevil: Born Again. He returns to deliver his poetic justice as the blind lawyer Matt Murdock by day and the crime-fighting vigilante Daredevil by night. Director duo Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson take over the reins of this crime-fighting superhero’s story after his action-packed and brutal depiction in the Netflix series Daredevil. With the new series aiming to bridge the gap between past adaptations while carving its own path, Moorhead and Benson shed light on their approach, the challenges of living up to fan expectations, and the legacy they hope to continue.
While it is known that the JioHotstar series that debuts today, March 5, picks up after the events of the Netflix series, viewers will notice that it also has a rather unexpected stylistic resemblance to Ben Affleck’s 2003 movie ‘Daredevil’.
From Matt Murdock’s return to the courtroom to the intense action sequences, romance, and moody cinematography capturing Hell’s Kitchen’s cityscape, the show’s tone, begged the question of whether the creative team intentionally drew references from the Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner-led movie.
However, in an exclusive interview with ETimes, Moorhead made a surprising confession, “I have—you know what, this might be controversial—I haven’t seen Ben Affleck’s Daredevil. Have you (Benson)? No. Is that bad?”
Instead, the directing duo cited Netflix’s Daredevil series as their biggest inspiration, praising its bold storytelling and technical achievements. Moorhead shared, “We were watching that and re-watching that, thinking, man, this thing takes some swings that don’t even happen in movies. And this was happening over long seasons of TV, on a compressed schedule, which makes it even harder to execute meaningful shots and memorable fight scenes.”
Benson echoed this sentiment, recalling their recent rewatch of the Netflix series. “Not only does it reach dramatic and technical heights that are rare for television, but there’s just so much of it. You watch it and think, how did they have the stamina?” he remarked.
The filmmakers also acknowledged the challenges of maintaining such high standards, especially when filming in challenging conditions with Moorhead joking, “Are we going to be able to do this? How many nights in the middle of winter in New York were they on rooftops?”
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ also stars Vincent D’Onofrio reprising his role as Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin and Jon Bernthal returning as the Punisher.
