Daredevil Directors Eye Big Screen Debut for Marvel Hero

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Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, the dynamic directors behind several episodes of Marvel’s upcoming series “Daredevil: Born Again”, shared their desire to bring Matt Murdock to the big screen during an exclusive chat with ComicBook at the show’s premiere event. Known for their impressive work on Marvel’s “Moon Knight” and “Loki”, these celebrated indie horror filmmakers singled out Daredevil as the Marvel character they are most eager to explore in a full-length movie. With the much-anticipated launch of “Daredevil: Born Again” on Disney+ set for March 4th, this news arrives just days before the highly anticipated return of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Early buzz describes this continuation as a “grim, brutal, and incredibly violent” chapter in the character’s tale.

As a passionate Marvel enthusiast, if someone were to ask me which character I’d most like to direct a feature film for, there was a moment of indecision. I finally decided on Moon Knight, but then I had second thoughts and said Daredevil instead. Let me clarify my initial hesitation. I didn’t say Daredevil first because I thought he already had a movie, and then it dawned on me that wasn’t the case in the grand scheme of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). While there is a Daredevil film outside the MCU, it doesn’t change the fact that I was momentarily confused, thinking that his story was already told within the MCU.

Benson shared insights on why taking charge of the Daredevil: Born Again series seemed a perfect match for their filmmaking approach, developed through successful independent horror productions like Resolution, Spring, and The Endless. “This project feels so familiar to us,” Benson said, “because as we delve deeper into real-world settings, especially street-level ones, that’s the environment we usually capture in our own indie films.” “In a way, it allows us to revisit our unique blend of sci-fi and horror elements from our previous projects,” he added, “and create something we can truly be proud of.

From Independent Horror to Marvel’s Street-Level Universe

Initially, Benson and Moorhead impressed Marvel Studios with their unique storytelling style emphasizing atmosphere, which earned them the job to direct two key episodes of the 2022 series “Moon Knight” featuring Oscar Isaac – “Summon the Suit” and “The Tomb.” This chance subsequently expanded into a more significant position for “Loki” Season 2, where they directed four out of six episodes and acted as executive producers on several others, significantly influencing the complex time-travel storyline that concluded Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal as the Trickster.

The creative team behind “Daredevil: Born Again” was brought in following a major revamp of the project around mid-2023. Marvel Studios decided to alter their initial strategy, which apparently intended to bypass the Netflix era of Daredevil, and instead chose to acknowledge the first three seasons as part of the character’s history. This change of direction resulted in the return of popular characters Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), who had initially been excluded from the reboot plans. According to industry reports, Benson and Moorhead were specifically chosen for their ability to maintain the raw, violent atmosphere that made the Netflix series popular while also tying it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The pair are directing two episodes of Season 1, with early feedback suggesting they’ve effectively captured the intense action style that characterized the original “Daredevil” series.

The highly anticipated “Daredevil: Born Again” is set to debut as one of the most adult-oriented and intense series on Disney+ so far, airing on March 4th.

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2025-02-25 12:41