Much to fan elation, Marvel Studios recently announced a new Daredevil solo series with the Frank Miller-inspired Born Again subtitle. While this next show has massive shoes to fill from when the original was on Netflix, the astonishing secondary announcement that the season will be 18 episodes could show that Kevin Feige and his team are taking this project seriously.
Nonetheless, fans on Reddit have been excitedly discussing their hopes for this spiritual sequel. A more grounded tone with fleshed-out storylines is a must, as well as the return of fan-favorite characters.
Don't Lean Too Hard Into Quirky Humor
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been wildly lucrative for years now, one of its understandably common criticisms over the years has been its overbearing sense of humor. Balancing drama with comic relief is essential and can be tastefully done, but the recent Thor: Love and Thunder has been another example of forced comedy undercutting character drama.
Redditor Mr628 said "The hype for this and the low reception Thor got should let Disney know that fans actually care about serious well-written characters. Comedy and quirkiness [aren’t] the only way to go." Daredevil was acclaimed in part for its intimate character writing, and it would be a shame for that to be discarded for calculated laughs.
More Grounded Atmosphere
As one of the Marvel universe's best street-level heroes, nailing that element of Daredevil's world like the original series did will likely be the foundation for Born Again's potential success on Disney+. The aforementioned announcement of an 18-episode first season seems like a step in the right direction, suggesting that the budget might be better allocated here.
Redditor Egonheart123 saw it as an optimistic sign, saying "It's a good sign (in my opinion) that they are [keeping] the "grounded" feel (street level action) that was in the Netflix show. Less money on CGI = more episodes."
Bring Back Wilson Bethel's Bullseye
While Kingpin is expectedly seen as Daredevil's most fearsome villain in the comics and live-action, Bullseye is at least a tight second place. He's also responsible for much of the misery that Matt Murdock has endured in the source material and Wilson Bethel's portrayal of the psychopathic villain deserves an encore.
Redditor OddOkra explained simply "BRING BACK BETHEL," and his season 3 performance and cliffhanger ending warrant it. Born Again will likely be a soft reboot that keeps the same general continuity of the first show without alienating fresh audiences, but Bullseye's return could seamlessly fit in without fans feeling lost.
Use The 18-Episode Format To Flesh Stories Out
One of the recurring criticisms of Disney+ MCU shows has been their episode counts. Marvel Studios seems to have stuck with a 6- or 9-episode format for all of its shows. However, particularly for the dramas, most of the shows felt rushed, with much of the plot not unraveling until the last one or two episodes.
Redditor GodKamnitDenny "Hope this means they might start tailoring the length of the shows to the actual content rather than breaking up a slightly longer movie in X number of pieces." Hopefully, the 18 episodes won't suffer from bloat, but it sounds better than the arbitrary mandate up until now.
Bring Back Elodie Yung's Elektra
Bringing back Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio in their respective roles was the bare minimum, but now fans are reasonably wanting to know who will flesh out the supporting cast. Daredevil season 2 was solid, even it if was dwarfed in comparison to 1 and 3, and Elektra was an underrated highlight.
Redditor Multi_Sharp said, "Oh, and Wilson Bethel as Bullseye and Elodie Yung as Elektra back along with OG cast please." Daredevil's complicated romance with Elektra -- while her arc was hampered by The Hand -- needs more exploration in live-action, and Cox and Yung's dynamic was enticing to watch. Elektra's ambiguous fate could arguably be even easier to reintroduce her without confusion.
The Return Of Nelson, Murdock & Page
Charlie Cox's return as Murdock is a massive win for the fan base, but the original actors for Foggy Nelson and Karen Page are also important to rekindling those heartwarming friendships. Elden Henson was practically lifted off the pages of the comics, and Deborah Ann Woll brought an interesting new rendition of the character.
They're now popularly in demand to return, with fans like Redditor wgreeley confidently believing they'd "bet the bank that Foggy and Karen are both back." Their warm conclusion in season 3 by reforming as Nelson, Murdock & Page is begging for an effortless transition into Daredevil: Born Again.
More Top-Notch Action Choreography
One of the most consistently well-done elements of Daredevil outside of writing and acting was the action choreography. The fight scenes throughout the series felt tense and cathartic, with audiences feeling the weight of every blow that Daredevil dealt and was dealt with.
Redditor EnOdNu2 believes it's a prerequisite for Born Again, saying "I hope they bring back those masterful fight scenes or I'm starting a riot." While the original show certainly didn't invent it, it did help popularize the long one-take action sequences with the series' iconic hallway fight scenes.
No 30-Minute Episodes
Another issue with the current crop of Disney+ Marvel shows aside from the episode count is the runtimes. The dramas are popularly marketed as ~45-50 minute episodes, while comedy-like episodes are 30 minutes. Redditor smlngb expressed excitement over the 18-episode count, but also expressed concern, saying "Let’s hope it isn’t just 30 mins per ep, but that’s still a huge W."
But the main issue is, after cutting out intros/recaps/end credits, those runtimes were significantly shorter than advertised. In this case, "30 minutes" would really mean around 23-25 minutes, which would be a big disappointment for many fans and defeat the purpose of an 18-episode drama.
Return Of Fellow Defenders
While Daredevil: Born Again shouldn't abuse its extended episode count to set up a handful of spinoffs through intrusive cameos, it's hard not to be excited about the prospect of what this show means for other Defenders. It can be done naturally, without stealing the spotlight from the central character and story, and Jessica Jones would arguably be the best fit.
Redditor simonthedlgger thinks "with this many episodes, I don't see how we don't see the likes of Jessica Jones and some other local vigilantes." Their sarcastic back-and-forth in The Defenders was one of the most fun and organically comedic relationships in the MCU, and being in Born Again in a supporting capacity could be a tasteful way to reintroduce her into this universe.
Releasing More Than 1 Episode Per Week
An 18-episode season was exciting as it was surprising to hear, as it'll by far be the most ambitious thing Feige and the rest of Marvel Studios have done in the TV space. Most were worried about the potential writing and being crammed into another 6-episode event, and now fans are curious as to how the release schedule will function when it premieres in spring 2024.
Redditor Keyanelli proposed an equally-ambitious possibility that "If they release 3 episodes a week it would fit inside the 6-7 week release cycles they've done with the other limited D+ series." It seems too good to happen, but the idea of releasing more than one episode per week isn't inherently farfetched. Eighteen weeks is far more than everyone has been used to, but simply releasing two episodes per week would still fit all episodes in the 8-to-9-week format Marvel, as used for WandaVision and the upcoming She-Hulk.