section_path: Production/Writing
section_name: Writing
paragraph_text: Writing
  
  The initial take on the series was described as a legal procedural. Cox said it was dark but not as gory as the Netflix series. He wanted to take what worked from Daredevil and broaden it for Born Again to appeal to a younger audience. Feige said the studio was hoping to experiment with more episodic, "self-contained" episodes, unlike some of their Phase Four series that had a larger story split across multiple episodes. According to Cox, early discussions for the series were about "reinvent the whole thing" and portraying Murdock as a different person from the one seen in the Netflix series. Murdock's friends Franklin "Foggy" Nelson and Karen Page were largely not acknowledged in this version. Amanat said the creative team struggled to incorporate them into the story, but Cox said there were discussions to do some "cool stuff" with them in the future.
  
  Following the creative overhaul, serialized elements were set to be added. Scardapane said several elements in the original version worked well, but he felt there were storylines that needed to be added along with context from the Netflix series. His pilot acts as a bridge between the Netflix series and Born Again, beginning a few years after the end of Daredevil with Murdock, Nelson, and Page running their law firm, Nelson, Murdock & Page, and having a "pretty good rhythm" together. Winderbaum said Marvel Studios' approach to connecting Born Again with the Netflix series after the creative overhaul was influenced by how Loki and the animated series X-Men '97 (2024–present) honored prior iterations of their characters to establish new storylines. The cast said the events of the Netflix series were part of their characters' histories, and there are some new storylines that build on the original's events, but they did not want to dwell too much on past events or alienate new viewers who did not watch the Netflix series. Cox praised Scardapane's balance between respecting the Netflix series and not relying on that history too much. Co-star Jon Bernthal said any large diversions to the characters from the past were done for a reason, not simply for the sake of trying a different idea. Some of Scardapane's early ideas for the series were turned down due to Marvel Studios' larger plans for the MCU, but he otherwise had "leeway" to tell a specific Daredevil story. The character's appearances in Daredevil, No Way Home and the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) are part of his history, but the series does not lean into all of those events. Scardapane said Marvel had "moved Matt through other corners of the MCU, and now he's back in his own story", which has a more serious tone.
  
  Describing some of Born Again ' s differences from the Netflix series, Scardapane said the new series would have more fun character moments and "a lot less navel-gazing" than the original. He felt that series had been at its worst when featuring "two characters in a room talking about what a hero is" and was more interested in showing the characters doing things. Scardapane described Born Again as a "New York crime story", compared to the noir tone of the original series, taking inspiration from the series The Sopranos (1999–2007), the film King of New York (1990), and other crime media from the 1990s. Winderbaum likened Born Again to the series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) because it features "multiple factions vying for power in really complex ways". Another difference from Daredevil is the pace of episodes, with Scardapane explaining that there was an edict for the Marvel Netflix series to feature longer character scenes between their action sequences. This was not a requirement for Born Again which allowed the creative team to give it a pace and scope that the Netflix series were unable to. D'Onofrio said Born Again would have a similar tone and feel to the Disney+ series Echo (2024), and Scardapane said it would be darker than Daredevil which he felt only had some dark elements. Within the MCU, the first season is set after Echo. The first episode begins in late 2025, before jumping ahead a year to late 2026. The season continues into early 2027, and shows New Year's Eve and Saint Patrick's Day celebrations.
  
  Despite using the Born Again subtitle, the series does not directly adapt that storyline or others from the comics. It also does not incorporate any of the planned material for the fourth season of Daredevil.: 24 At the beginning of Born Again, Murdock has not been Daredevil for a year after a "line was crossed", when Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter / Bullseye kills Nelson and Murdock tries to kill Dex in return. Amanat believed killing Nelson, who is Murdock's moral compass, was "the only thing that made sense" when telling a story about Murdock starting a new life without being Daredevil. Cox felt Nelson's death was an appropriate way to start the series, believing the new story needed to be "big, brave, and bold" and "shake things up" from the original. The series sees Fisk being elected mayor of New York City, after learning of the need for a strong candidate in the post-credits scene of Echo. Scardapane said the series was a "two-hander", exploring both Murdock and Fisk.: 4 Though Fisk is the "prime villain", the series features other antagonists who Scardapane said would be "piling up" as the story continues. These include the serial killer Muse, whose storyline continues into the second season.
  
  The initial take on the series was described as a legal procedural. Cox said it was dark but not as gory as the Netflix series. He wanted to take what worked from Daredevil and broaden it for Born Again to appeal to a younger audience. Feige said the studio was hoping to experiment with more episodic, "self-contained" episodes, unlike some of their Phase Four series that had a larger story split across multiple episodes. According to Cox, early discussions for the series were about "reinvent the whole thing" and portraying Murdock as a different person from the one seen in the Netflix series. Murdock's friends Franklin "Foggy" Nelson and Karen Page were largely not acknowledged in this version. Amanat said the creative team struggled to incorporate them into the story, but Cox said there were discussions to do some "cool stuff" with them in the future.
  
  Following the creative overhaul, serialized elements were set to be added. Scardapane said several elements in the original version worked well, but he felt there were storylines that needed to be added along with context from the Netflix series. His pilot acts as a bridge between the Netflix series and Born Again, beginning a few years after the end of Daredevil with Murdock, Nelson, and Page running their law firm, Nelson, Murdock & Page, and having a "pretty good rhythm" together. Winderbaum said Marvel Studios' approach to connecting Born Again with the Netflix series after the creative overhaul was influenced by how Loki and the animated series X-Men '97 (2024–present) honored prior iterations of their characters to establish new storylines. The cast said the events of the Netflix series were part of their characters' histories, and there are some new storylines that build on the original's events, but they did not want to dwell too much on past events or alienate new viewers who did not watch the Netflix series. Cox praised Scardapane's balance between respecting the Netflix series and not relying on that history too much. Co-star Jon Bernthal said any large diversions to the characters from the past were done for a reason, not simply for the sake of trying a different idea. Some of Scardapane's early ideas for the series were turned down due to Marvel Studios' larger plans for the MCU, but he otherwise had "leeway" to tell a specific Daredevil story. The character's appearances in Daredevil, No Way Home and the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) are part of his history, but the series does not lean into all of those events. Scardapane said Marvel had "moved Matt through other corners of the MCU, and now he's back in his own story", which has a more serious tone.
  
  Describing some of Born Again ' s differences from the Netflix series, Scardapane said the new series would have more fun character moments and "a lot less navel-gazing" than the original. He felt that series had been at its worst when featuring "two characters in a room talking about what a hero is" and was more interested in showing the characters doing things. Scardapane described Born Again as a "New York crime story", compared to the noir tone of the original series, taking inspiration from the series The Sopranos (1999–2007), the film King of New York (1990), and other crime media from the 1990s. Winderbaum likened Born Again to the series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) because it features "multiple factions vying for power in really complex ways". Another difference from Daredevil is the pace of episodes, with Scardapane explaining that there was an edict for the Marvel Netflix series to feature longer character scenes between their action sequences. This was not a requirement for Born Again which allowed the creative team to give it a pace and scope that the Netflix series were unable to. D'Onofrio said Born Again would have a similar tone and feel to the Disney+ series Echo (2024), and Scardapane said it would be darker than Daredevil which he felt only had some dark elements. Within the MCU, the first season is set after Echo. The first episode begins in late 2025, before jumping ahead a year to late 2026. The season continues into early 2027, and shows New Year's Eve and Saint Patrick's Day celebrations.
  
  Despite using the Born Again subtitle, the series does not directly adapt that storyline or others from the comics. It also does not incorporate any of the planned material for the fourth season of Daredevil.: 24 At the beginning of Born Again, Murdock has not been Daredevil for a year after a "line was crossed", when Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter / Bullseye kills Nelson and Murdock tries to kill Dex in return. Amanat believed killing Nelson, who is Murdock's moral compass, was "the only thing that made sense" when telling a story about Murdock starting a new life without being Daredevil. Cox felt Nelson's death was an appropriate way to start the series, believing the new story needed to be "big, brave, and bold" and "shake things up" from the original. The series sees Fisk being elected mayor of New York City, after learning of the need for a strong candidate in the post-credits scene of Echo. Scardapane said the series was a "two-hander", exploring both Murdock and Fisk.: 4 Though Fisk is the "prime villain", the series features other antagonists who Scardapane said would be "piling up" as the story continues. These include the serial killer Muse, whose storyline continues into the second season.