On February 22, Disney+ held a virtual press conference for the cast and producers of its highly anticipated upcoming series, Daredevil: Born Again. In attendance were stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, who play Daredevil and Wilson Fisk, respectively, along with showrunner Dario Scardapane, episode directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, and producers Brad Winderbaum and Sana Amanat. ClickTheCity was granted access to the event and had the opportunity to watch the panel, moderated by Sade Spence.
Off the bat, it seems that this is happy production. The two leads easily share banter not just with each other but the creative team behind the show. In fact, Vincent D’Onofrio is quick to hand out praises for the team, especially to the directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. D’Onofrio compliments them by saying that ‘Loki’ season 2 is his favourite Disney+ show and that there are “stuff they did on the second season of that show that I’ve never seen before.”
Despite playing each other’s nemesis for three seasons of Daredevil, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio share a close and comfortable friendship. Cox even says, “Over the last 10 years, we’ve obviously become very good friends. And the good news is that it does feel like the better friends we become, the easier it is to hate each other.” D’Onofrio agrees but adds that their strong friendship fosters trust, which enhances their work. Their bond is so deep that whenever Daredevil and Wilson Fisk share a rare scene together, they instantly connect. D’Onofrio refers to this unspoken understanding as their “shorthand.”
There are two such scenes already in the first two episodes of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ and what they are talking about is in full view.
But while there’s a lot of love and banter and laughter, the whole cast and artistic team are very, very careful about spoilers. Oftentimes, someone says out loud, “careful” why someone is trying to answer a tricky question about certain characters. As someone who was given a screener for the first two episodes, I got nervous about how some people were trying to skirt around these topics – mostly from the two directors – because the two actors were completely tight-lipped.
One thing they were able to talk about is the fact that Jon Bernthal is returning to the show as Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher. Sade Spence shared a question directed towards Charlie Cox about what kind of relationship will the two characters have in the show. Cox was quick to say that he would watch anything Jon Bernthal was in and is a massive fan of the actor. Cox adds that he’s “got such amazing charisma and energy. Whenever he shows up, it’s absolute delight both in terms of his performance and as a human.” But then Cox also shares that Jon and Charlie (talking about himself in the third person) are very “different people” and he implies that the energy their differences create is utilized and made to make the show so much more fun.
“We’re very different people, in some ways,” Charlie Cox tries to explain, “but Daredevil and Frank are much more like one another than Charlie and Jon are so it’s much more fun to play with that. And often when I’m on a scene as Daredevil with Frank, he pulls me closer to the Daredevil that I’m frightened of and excited by, if you know what I mean.”
Now that’s a combination that’s making me extra excited about what else is to come in the show.
But while they can be open about The Punisher, when the moderator opens about a character called Muse, no one can give her a straight answer other than Scardapane saying that “Muse is one of the stressors” of the two characters.
To sum up what Scardapane imagines for this show is how the hero and the villain, Matt Murdock as Daredevil and Wilson Fisk as The Kingpin, are filled with such humanity but carry with them “a kind of dark passenger” or their alter egos. So, what the made working on the show so interesting for him was how they “always try to find that humanity inside the heightened world with action that every time is trying to reset the bar for television.” They tried to keep the darkness and the grit of the earlier versions of the show when it was on Netflix and pushed against the boundaries of what was acceptable in a Disney+ show. Producer Brad Winderbaum said they took a “softer approach at the beginning” but then they kept pushing the material further and further because that’s what the fans would want (in terms of tone and aesthetic) but also because the story demanded it. Brad concludes with the fact that they “never found the breaking point” and achieved the darkness and the tone they wanted.
Now, it’s time to see the results for yourself! Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+—don’t miss it!
