Wilson Bethel as Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter / Bullseye: A psychopathic assassin and former FBI agent who is a highly skilled marksman capable of using almost any object as a lethal projectile.[11] Bethel said the season featured new sides to Dex's personality that had not been seen before, and he was excited for fans to see the "fun, insane stuff" that he got to do with the character in the season.[12]
Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk: Wilson's wife who is part of his criminal empire and the one that orchestrated Nelson's assassination[13]
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher: A vigilante who aims to fight the criminal underworld by any means necessary, no matter how lethal the results are, following the brutal murder of his family[14]
Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones: A former vigilante suffering from PTSD who runs her own detective agency and becomes Murdock's resistance ally. She has superhuman strength and limited flight abilities.[15][16] Ritter said it felt like no time had passed since she starred as Jones in Marvel's Netflix television seriesJessica Jones (2015–2019), and she found it creatively fulfilling to contrast her performance in Born Again with her concurrent role as Mia LaPierre / Lady Vengeance in the series Dexter: Resurrection (2025–present).[17] Cox described Jones as an antihero and said she and Murdock have a mutual respect despite their differing opinions of each other.[18]
Additionally, Sydney Parra,[25]Annie Parisse,[26] and James Armstrong have been cast in undisclosed roles.[27]
Production
Development
A reboot of Marvel's Netflix television seriesDaredevil (2015–2018) was reported to be in development with Marvel Studios in March 2022.[28][29] The series was confirmed to be in development for Disney+ in late May, with Matt Corman and Chris Ord attached as head writers and executive producers.[30] At San Diego Comic-Con that July, the series was announced as Daredevil: Born Again and was revealed to have 18 episodes for its first season.[31] By late September 2023, after six episodes had been filmed,[32][33] Marvel Studios decided to overhaul the series with a new creative direction. Corman and Ord were let go as head writers, as were the series' remaining directors.[32] Marvel planned to retain some elements that had been shot, add new serialized elements, and move closer to the tone of the Netflix series.[32][34] The creative team also decided to connect the new series to the original series more directly than had previously been planned.[35]Dario Scardapane, a writer on Netflix's Daredevil spin-off series The Punisher (2017–2019), was hired as showrunner for Born Again in October 2023.[34] Filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who previously worked on the Marvel Studios series Moon Knight (2022) and the second season of Loki (2023), were hired to direct the remaining episodes.[34]
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in August 2024 that nine episodes had been completed that would make up the first season of Born Again, and a second season was planned;[36][37] with the creative overhaul, the planned 18-episode season had been split into two, nine-episode seasons.[38][39] In February 2025, Scardapane, Benson, and Moorhead were confirmed to be returning for the second season,[19][39] with Benson and Moorhead directing the first two episodes.[1][4] Scardapane said the second season would just be eight episodes,[3][40] and described its production as a "better-oiled machine".[39] In May, star Vincent D'Onofrio revealed that Angela Barnes would direct for the season after doing so for the Marvel Studios series Ironheart (2025).[41]Solvan Naim and Iain B. MacDonald were revealed in July to also be directing.[5] Executive producers included Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, and Sana Amanat, alongside Scardapane, Benson, and Moorhead.[19] The series is released under Marvel Studios' "Marvel Television" label.[42]
Writing
The series' initial take was described as a legal procedural that was dark, but not as gory as the Netflix series,[32][43] and more episodic than other Marvel Studios series with "self-contained" episodes.[44] D'Onofrio said in March 2023 that they were working on two seasons and there would be "gigantic payoffs" during the second.[45] Following the series' creative overhaul, serialized elements were added,[34] and the cast said the events of the original series would be part of their characters' histories. Some new storylines build on those events, but they did not want to dwell too much on the past or alienate new viewers.[46]
Grainne Godfree, Heather Bellson, and Jesse Wigutow returned as writers from the first season, alongside newcomers Chantelle Wells and Omar Najam.[6][needs update][5] Scardapane said the scripts for seven episodes were "locked, loaded, [and] ready to go" ahead of filming. He was still working on the season finale, as he wanted to incorporate elements discovered during filming similar to traditional network television series where only a few episodes are written ahead of the one being filmed.[40] The final script was completed by May 2025.[47] Star Charlie Cox applauded the scripts, believing the season had some of the series' best writing and a strong ensemble due to it developing characters who Cox felt were "left behind" in the series' initial iteration.[48]
Scardapane described the second season as a "part two", building on what had been done with the first,[39] with visual cues, themes, and Easter eggs from the first season that "pay off monstrously" in the second.[49] He said Wilson Fisk is the "prime villain" of the series, but it also features other antagonists who would be "piling up" as the story continues. These include the serial killer Muse, whose storyline has a "ripple effect" from the first season into the second.[39] At the end of the first season, Fisk has placed New York City under martial law and locked his political opponents in cages. D'Onofrio said this allows Fisk to commit crimes and get rid of vigilantes, but the character has bigger plans to expand his power and reach beyond New York.[50] Because of Fisk's actions, the season's characters are divided into two factions: Matt Murdock's resistance and Fisk's administration. Scardapane called the season a "resistance story" that explores how Murdock, who found a balance with his life as the vigilante Daredevil in the first season, can continue to operate now that being a vigilante is illegal. Murdock's resistance army expands throughout the season.[9] Scardapane said in April 2025 that Murdock's fellow Defenders from the Netflix miniseries The Defenders (2017) could join his army, but incorporating them all was "tricky writing-wise" as the writers wanted the story to unfold organically and earn the right to have returning characters.[49] A month later, Defenders member Jessica Jones was announced to be returning as one of Murdock's allies in the season.[16]
Despite being killed in the series' first episode, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson returns for the second season. Amanat said Nelson actor Elden Henson and Karen Page actress Deborah Ann Woll would both appear in different ways and said the creative team could not see a Daredevil season without Henson having some involvement.[10] In the first season, the law firm Nelson, Murdock & Page has the building number 468, which Gizmodo's James Whitbrook felt was an Easter egg to 2006's Daredevil vol. 2 #88 (legacy #468). That issue, by Ed Brubaker, David Aja, and Frank D'Armata, is called "The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson" and depicts Nelson makings a deal with the FBI to enter the Witness Protection Program after his apparent murder. Whitbrook wondered if Nelson would be revealed to be alive in the second season. He acknowledged that Nelson's death in the first season "leaves very little room for vagueness", unlike the comic version, but also noted that there is precedence in the Netflix series for characters being resurrected through supernatural means.[51] Reacting to this theory, Moorhead said street-level stories do not usually include supernatural elements and this creates stronger consequences for violence and death: "punches hurt more and blood means more... and dying very often does mean that you're actually dead".[52]
At the end of February 2025, Matthew Lillard joined the cast for the season,[19] in a recurring role.[20] He called it a "small role right now" and was hopeful the character could return in the future.[53] The next month, Lili Taylor joined in another recurring role as the governor of New York and a political opponent to Fisk.[20][21] Also in March, set photos revealed that Sydney Parra,[25]Annie Parisse,[26] and James Armstrong were part of the cast.[27] In May, Krysten Ritter was announced to be reprising her role as Jessica Jones from Marvel's Netflix series.[15] Ritter said she had known about her return to the role for nearly two years and had struggled to keep that secret due to being "asked about [playing the character again] daily".[54] In July, Royce Johnson was revealed to be reprising his role as Brett Mahoney from Marvel's Netflix series.[24]
Guest stars include Susan Varon, who reprises her role as Josie,[23] and Camila Rodriguez reprising her role as Angela del Toro.[22]
Design
Michael Shaw and Emily Gunshor returned as production designer and costume designer, respectively, from the first season.[5][24] The second season features a black Daredevil suit with a red "double D" chest emblem, similar to the one featured in the "Shadowland" (2010) comic book storyline.[55][14] It is the first time the character has worn a suit with the chest emblem in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).[56][14] Looking at set photos of the suit, Felipe Rangel of Screen Rant said there appeared to be bits of red visible under the black. He speculated that Murdock had painted over his red suit from the first season.[56] Cox said the suit from the end of the season was his favorite to date, calling it "bad-ass" and noting it had unique elements to it created for the season that had not been seen in the comics previously.[57] Dex's costume features a blue "target" emblem on the forehead, similar to the white one from the comics.[58]
Filming
Principal photography began on February 28, 2025,[8][3] with Benson and Moorhead,[3] Naim, MacDonald, and Barnes as directors,[5] under the working titleOut the Kitchen 2.[4][58] Hillary Fyfe Spera returned as cinematographer from the first season,[4] and was joined by Jeffrey Waldron for Naim and MacDonald's episodes.[59] Philip Silvera returned from the first season as stunt coordinator and second unit director.[5] In late March, filming occurred in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, at the set for Josie's Bar, with Cox wearing his black Daredevil suit.[23][55] In early April, Bethel filmed scenes in Chelsea.[11] Filming was halfway done by mid-May,[60] and wrapped on July 9.[5]
Editing
Cedric Nairn-Smith, Stephanie Filo, and Melissa Lawson Cheung returned as editors from the first season.[5]
Marketing
In May 2025, Cox and Ritter appeared at Disney's upfront presentation where they debuted footage from the season, and Cox confirmed that Daredevil would wear an "iconic" suit featuring the "double D" chest emblem.[15][14]
Release
The second season is set to premiere in March 2026,[2] and will consist of eight episodes.[3] It will be part of Phase Six of the MCU,[40] and be released under Marvel Studios' "Marvel Television" label.[42]
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