Development A
reboot of
Marvel's Netflix television series Daredevil (2015–2018) was reported to be in development with
Marvel Studios in March 2022. The series was confirmed to be in development for
Disney+ in late May, with Matt Corman and Chris Ord attached as
head writers and executive producers. At
San Diego Comic-Con that July, the series was announced as
Daredevil: Born Again and was revealed to have 18 episodes for its first season. By late September 2023, after six episodes had been filmed, Marvel Studios decided to overhaul the series with a new creative direction. Corman and Ord were let go as head writers, as were the series' remaining directors. Marvel planned to retain some elements that had been shot, add new
serialized elements, and move closer to the tone of the Netflix series. The creative team also decided to connect the new series to the original series more directly than had previously been planned.
Dario Scardapane, a writer on Netflix's
Daredevil spin-off series
The Punisher (2017–2019), was hired as
showrunner for
Born Again in October 2023. Filmmaking duo
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who previously worked on the Marvel Studios series
Moon Knight (2022) and the
second season of
Loki (2023), were hired to direct the remaining episodes. Marvel Studios president
Kevin Feige said in August 2024 that nine episodes had been completed that would make up the
first season of
Born Again, and a second season was planned; with the creative overhaul, the planned 18-episode season had been split into two, nine-episode seasons. In February 2025, Scardapane, Benson, and Moorhead were confirmed to be returning for the second season, with Benson and Moorhead directing the first two episodes. Scardapane said the second season would just be eight episodes, and described its production as a "better-oiled machine". In May, star
Vincent D'Onofrio revealed that Angela Barnes would direct for the season after doing so for the Marvel Studios series
Ironheart (2025).
Solvan "Slick" Naim and
Iain B. MacDonald were revealed in July to also be directing. Naim directed the third and fourth episodes, Barnes directed the fifth and sixth episodes, and MacDonald directed the final two episodes. Executive producers included Marvel Studios' Feige,
Louis D'Esposito,
Brad Winderbaum, and
Sana Amanat, alongside Scardapane, Benson, Moorhead, MacDonald, Cox, and D'Onofrio. David Chambers serves as producer. The series is released under Marvel Studios' "
Marvel Television" label.
Writing The series' initial take was described as a legal
procedural that was dark, but not as gory as the Netflix series, and more episodic than other Marvel Studios series with "self-contained" episodes. D'Onofrio said in March 2023 that they were working on two seasons and there would be "gigantic payoffs" during the second. Following the series' creative overhaul, serialized elements were added, and the cast said the events of the original series would be part of their characters' histories. Some new storylines build on those events, but they did not want to dwell too much on the past or alienate new viewers.
Heather Bellson, Jesse Wigutow, and Devon Kliger returned as writers from the first season, alongside newcomers Chantelle Wells and Omar Najam. Wigutow said the season had a "singular vision", unlike the first which at times felt "jigsawed together" due to the creative overhaul. Scardapane said the scripts for seven episodes were "locked, loaded, [and] ready to go" ahead of filming. He was still working on the
season finale, as he wanted to incorporate elements discovered during filming similar to traditional
network television series where only a few episodes are written ahead of the one being filmed. The final script was completed by May 2025. Star
Charlie Cox applauded the scripts, believing the season had some of the series' best writing and a strong
ensemble due to it developing characters who Cox felt were "left behind" in the series' initial iteration. Scardapane described the second season as a "part two", building on what had been done with the first, with visual cues, themes, and
Easter eggs from the first season that "pay off monstrously" in the second. He said
Wilson Fisk / Kingpin is the "prime villain" of the series, but it also features other antagonists who would be "piling up" as the story continues. These include the serial killer
Muse, whose storyline has a "ripple effect" from the first season into the second. At the end of the first season, Fisk has placed New York City under
martial law and locked his political opponents in cages. D'Onofrio said this allows Fisk to commit crimes and get rid of vigilantes, but the character has bigger plans to expand his power and reach beyond New York. Wigutow said the season had "a lot of political intrigue and palace intrigue", and was telling a "big New York City story" about crime and politics that narrows down to "what matters most" in the finale. He said the season was ultimately about Fisk and
Matt Murdock / Daredevil both hating and needing each other, and how they work through that. Scardapane explained that Fisk and Murdock's fight "poisons everything around them". Cox said Fisk's New York had become "much more sinister" for those looking to do the right thing and "all bets are off" now that the first-season pact between Murdock and Fisk, to avoid confronting each other, no longer applies. Scardapane acknowledged similarities between the Mayor Fisk storyline, which ends with the second season, and contemporary U.S. politics. He said the writers were drawing from the comics and history, for example the actions and costumes of the
Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF) was taken directly from the comics, and it was strange that the episodes they filmed a year earlier looked like they "could be off the news" at the time of the season's release. Because of Fisk's actions, the season's characters are divided into two factions: Murdock's resistance and Fisk's administration. Scardapane called the season a "resistance story" that explores how Murdock, who found a balance with his life as the vigilante Daredevil in the first season, can continue to operate now that being a vigilante is illegal. He referenced the
French Revolution, and said Murdock's rebellion would take longer than the characters and the audience might expect. Murdock's resistance army expands throughout the season. Scardapane said in April 2025 that Murdock's fellow
Defenders from Marvel's Netflix miniseries
The Defenders (2017) could join his army, but incorporating them all was "tricky writing-wise" as the writers wanted the story to unfold organically and earn the right to have returning characters. A month later, Defenders member
Jessica Jones was announced to be returning as one of Murdock's allies in the season. Winderbaum said Jessica Jones's role in the season was comparable to
Frank Castle / Punisher's in the first season. Scardapane said that featuring Jones in the series was part of the discussions when he originally joined, and was excited to explore what it would mean for her to be a vigilante underdog under Fisk's rule. As to why Jones was the first Defender to return, Scardapane added that she had "interesting life events that we wanted to explore" since the Netflix series. The season establishes that Jones's powers have stopped working intermittently since she was pregnant with her daughter
Danielle, whose introduction—as well as connection to her father, suggested to be
Luke Cage as in the comics—Scardapane said would have "echoes through the [street-level] corner" of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The season features the death of Fisk's wife
Vanessa, which drives him into a "whole new level of crazy". Vanessa's actress
Ayelet Zurer said the death scene was emotionally difficult and served as an "explosion" for Kingpin, taking away what little humanity he had left with her. She also saw it as being consistent with the character's death in the
Marvel Universe's
canon, seen in both
Brian Michael Bendis's
Daredevil comic book run and the animated film
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). The writers viewed Vanessa's death as a way to maintain balance between Fisk and Murdock, with her death being equal to
Franklin "Foggy" Nelson's death in the first season. Scardapane said it was "intentional irony" that
Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter / Bullseye is the one to kill both Nelson and Vanessa. The season is set around six months after the events of the first season, and concurrent with the events of the Marvel Studios television special
The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026). The creative team were in constant discussions with the filmmakers behind
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), which includes characters from the season, such as
Sheila Rivera, to ensure events lined up and "impacts are felt" between the two. Winderbaum said the tones of each project were different but they still wanted to highlight that they exist in the same world. Another element of "connective tissue" between the season and the wider MCU is the character
Mr. Charles, a
CIA agent who answers directly to the agency's director,
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and is recruiting superpowered people; one such person is confirmed to be Cage. Scardapane wanted de Fontaine to be "part of our world" in the series, but said the decision to include her was not his.
Casting Main cast members returning from the first season include
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin,
Deborah Ann Woll as
Karen Page,
Margarita Levieva as
Heather Glenn,
Tony Dalton as
Jack Duquesne / Swordsman,
Michael Gandolfini as
Daniel Blake,
Nikki M. James as
Kirsten McDuffie,
Arty Froushan as
Buck Cashman,
Genneya Walton as
BB Urich,
Zabryna Guevara as Sheila Rivera,
Clark Johnson as
Cherry, Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk,
Wilson Bethel as Dex Poindexter / Bullseye, and
Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson. At the end of February 2025,
Matthew Lillard joined the cast for the season as Mr. Charles. He called it a "small role right now" and was hopeful the character could return in the future. The next month,
Lili Taylor joined as
Marge McCaffrey, the governor of New York and a political opponent to Fisk. Also in March, set photos revealed that
Annie Parisse was part of the cast. In May,
Krysten Ritter was announced to be reprising her role as Jessica Jones from Marvel's Netflix series. Ritter said she had known about her return to the role for nearly two years and had struggled to keep that secret due to being "asked about [playing the character again] daily".
Royce Johnson was revealed in July to be reprising his role as
Brett Mahoney from Marvel's Netflix series, and confirmed his involvement in December.
Toby Leonard Moore was revealed in March 2026 to be reprising his role as
James Wesley from the
first season of
Daredevil (2015). Additional actors returning from the first season of
Born Again include Susan Varon as
Josie, Camila Rodriguez as
Angela del Toro / White Tiger, Hamish Allan-Headley as
Connor Powell,
John Benjamin Hickey as
Benjamin Hochberg, Jeremy Isaiah Earl as
Cole North,
Ruibo Qian as
Angie Kim, and Ashley Marie Ortiz as Soledad Ayala. Disney's upfront presentation in May 2025 showed footage of
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher, leading to speculation that he would appear in the season. Amanat stated in November that he would not and Castle's story would instead be continued in
One Last Kill. The following month, Royce Johnson promoted
Born Again season 2 with a photo of himself alongside Bernthal and Woll. This was interpreted by some as an indication that he filmed scenes with Bernthal for the season. Nick Stainforth at
Total Film questioned whether this photo was taken during the filming of
One Last Kill instead. D'Onofrio stated that Bernthal was not in the season because of his commitments to
One Last Kill and
Brand New Day.
Design Michael Shaw and Emily Gunshor returned as production designer and costume designer, respectively, from the first season. The second season features a black Daredevil suit with a red "double D" chest emblem, similar to the one featured in the "
Shadowland" (2010) comic book storyline. It is the first time the character has worn a suit with the chest emblem in the MCU. The suit is Daredevil's red suit spray painted black. Throughout the season, the black paint gradually peels away, revealing more of the red underneath. Cox felt it was "pretty cool" to finally wear a suit with the chest emblem and said he had never asked for it before and had to "earn it". He was happy for the suit to be seen in set photos, rather than the usual secrecy that is taken with a new suit during production, because he was proud to finally have the emblem and wanted to show it off. A scene was shot showing Murdock painting the suit, which Scardapane said was "pretty surreal", but it was ultimately cut from the season because it would have revealed the "double D" emblem and the creative team felt it was more interesting to first show the emblem during an actual Daredevil sequence. Cox said the suit from the end of the season was his favorite to date, calling it "bad-ass" and noting it had unique elements that were created for the season and had not been seen in the comics. Dex's Bullseye costume was also updated for the season, featuring a black and blue "target" emblem on the forehead, similar to the iconic white one from the comics. Gunshor recreated Jones's leather jacket from Marvel's Netflix television series
Jessica Jones (2015–2019), based on the original jacket which Ritter had kept after that series ended. Angela wears a homemade White Tiger costume that Gunshor described as a "kind of armor", though she also said it is not a "full superhero suit"; it consists of a white tiger-print bandana covering the lower half of Angela's face, a white hood under a black vest, and black gloves and belt that she swaps for white ones over the course of the season.
Filming Principal photography began on February 28, 2025, with Benson and Moorhead, Naim, Barnes, and MacDonald as directors, under the
working title Out the Kitchen 2. Soundstage work occurs at
Silvercup Studios East in
Queens. Hillary Fyfe Spera returned as cinematographer from the first season, working on the first, second, fifth, and sixth episodes in the season, with
Jeffrey Waldron serving as cinematographer for the other four episodes. Philip Silvera also returned from the first season as stunt coordinator and second unit director. In late March, filming occurred in
Greenpoint, Brooklyn, at the set for
Josie's Bar, with Cox wearing his black Daredevil suit. In early April, Bethel filmed scenes in
Chelsea. Dalton was injured while filming action scenes for the season, requiring him to rest for about two or three weeks. Filming of a scene at
New York City Hall involved more than 300 extras and 35
stunt performers, and took place over four nights, with shooting occurring between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m. each night. Filming was halfway done by mid-May, and
wrapped on July 9. D'Onofrio believed the fight between Fisk and Murdock in the season was "very reminiscent" of the action in the original Netflix series. The season features some archival footage from
Daredevil which is presented in its original
1.78:1 full screen aspect ratio rather than
Born Again wider
2.39:1 aspect ratio. 1.78:1 was also used for the new flashback scenes in the fifth episode, along with a different lighting approach that is closer to that of the original series. Commentators believed there was a possible appearance of a
Watcher in the fourth episode, which was acknowledged by Winderbaum. An outline of the Watcher's head is seemingly created out of broken glass after Bullseye and Daredevil escape through the window of
Fogwell's Gym, with the indoor light fixtures believed to be forming the Watcher's eyes.
Post-production Editors for the season included Melissa Lawson Cheung (first and fourth episodes), Stephanie Filo (second, fifth, and seventh episodes), and Cedric Nairn-Smith (third, sixth, and eighth episodes), with Lyric Ramsey and Yoni Rusnak assisting on the fifth and sixth episodes, respectively; Cheung, Filo, and Nairn-Smith returned from the first season. Gong Myung Lee also returned as visual effects supervisor, with visual effects provided by
Eyeline,
Storm Studios, Important Looking Pirates,
Lola Visual Effects, Phosphene, Curated, Anibrain,
Cantina Creative, FOLKS, EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani, Ingenuity Studios, and Wylie Co. VFX. Blake was originally meant to survive his scene with Cashman in the seventh episode, with Gandolfini filming scenes for the final episode and expecting to return for the third season. While writing the third season and editing the second, Scardapane came to feel that this was the wrong decision and said keeping him alive was "kind of meh and a non-story" that did not stay true to either character. The scene was altered through editing and visual effects to end with Cashman killing Blake, and the latter's scenes were removed from the eighth episode. Gandolfini agreed that this was the right decision and called it a "respectful goodbye" for Blake.
Music The Newton Brothers return as composers from the first season. Their score for the season is being released digitally by Hollywood Records and Marvel Music in two volumes: music from the first four episodes were released on April 7, and music for the other four episodes will be released on May 5. == Marketing ==