Summary
Daredevil: Born Againhas had many setbacks, including one alleged storyline that might not make it to the small screen.
During the 2023 WGA strike, Marvel Studios’Daredevilseries hit some production snags. The series encountered massive delays, and news has hit that production issues causedMarvel Studios to fire someDaredevil: Born Againwriters. The production company is reportedly overhauling its properties, including the highly anticipated show surrounding Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox). These reports are accompanied by rumors of what storylines would have made it intoDaredevil: Born Againbefore it underwent this change.
According to @CanWeGetSomeToast, one such storyline revolved around the heartbreaking death of Foggy Nelson, portrayed in the Netflix series by Elden Henson. This insider reported that Matt would have retired as Daredevil after Foggy’s death, unable to save him. Other tidbits includedVincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin becoming mayorand using his influence to dissuade street-level vigilantes from fighting crime, including Spider-Man.Beyond the Trailer’s Grace Randolph also claimed Karen Page was also killed off, but CanWeGetSomeToast said the character was never referenced or alluded to, even before Marvel Studios decided to retool the show.
This news contextualizes the uncertainty of Foggy’s role in the new series. He wasn’t even going to be in it. Despite the significance of Matt and Foggy’s relationship in the lore of theDaredevilcomic – and the Netflix series – Matt would be on his own. Foggy is Matt’s one tie to a normal life that isn’t immersed in drama. His romantic relationships have been filled with trauma and death, just as in his role as Daredevil. Foggy is the only constant in Matt’s life, and he needs that.
Now that this rumor is public, hopefully, this means Foggy won’t be sidelined or used as a plot device as yet another person Matt has to mourn. Essentially the Batman of Marvel, Matt has to constantly contend with everyone dying around him and using his alter ego to cope with it. At the very least, the newsmall-screen version ofDaredevilshould respect the one good thing Matt has going on in his life.
If they want to do away with aspects of the Netflix series that did not work while also sticking to comic canon, Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) is right there. Her fate in the comics has always been to die, and she did little for the Netflix series other than shame Matt for all of his life choices – while hypocritically letting Frank (Jon Bernthal) do whatever he wanted. The MCU wants to set itself apart from the Netflix series, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of Foggy Nelson. Viewers will wait to see how this new version ofDaredevil: Born Againwill shake out.
