Is ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ a Reboot or What?

Whether Disney+’s upcoming show Daredevil: Born Again is a full reboot or not remains a point of contention. Since Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio made their debuts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans have wondered whether the new 18-episode Daredevil: Born Again series would pick up where Daredevil season 3 left off. After all, a lot of narrative potential was still left on the table after the show’s surprising cancellation.

Not only did Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, and Karen Page agree to work together once more, but Wilson Bethel’s villain Bullseye was undergoing an operation to have his spine fixed, too. Now that Jon Bernthal’s Punisher has been confirmed to return for Daredevil: Born Again as well, there’s a lot the new show could do to carry on the old series’ storylines.

And yet, there’s never really been a clear answer as to whether Daredevil: Born Again is a reboot or not. Fans on Twitter all have differing opinions. Some say that the lack of announcements for Foggy and Karen’s return means the show is a reboot, an opinion which skyrocketed when it was announced that the role of Vanessa Fisk had been officially recast, with Sandrine Holt taking over from Ayelet Zurer.

But, if recasting a character automatically means that the show is a reboot, then that would also disqualify Iron Man 2, The Avengers, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania from still being part of the MCU’s official continuity, no?

Others who watched Matt Murdock and Jennifer Walters have a marvelously flirty fling in Marvel’s She-Hulk say that its use of the iconic musical theme from Netflix’s Daredevil show means that Born Again couldn’t possibly be a full reboot.

So, is Daredevil: Born Again a reboot or not?

Unfortunately, without Kevin Feige’s final comments, the answer to that question will remain in limbo. It should, however, be taken into account that Feige has previously said that Daredevil: Born Again should be viewed as season 1 as opposed to season 4. But since this is the MCU we’re talking about, that could still mean a lot of things.

Was Netflix’s Daredevil simply a variant of the same character? Did his story take place in a different corner of the multiverse?

Or, considering that so much has happened in the MCU since Daredevil was canceled in 2018, Daredevil: Born Again could also just be a continuation of the story at an entirely different time and place in the characters’ lives.

According to Charlie Cox, either of these options could be true. In an interview with iNews in December 2022, Cox said “I don’t think it’s a different character. I just think it’s maybe a different period of his life. I don’t think my interpretation will change—they hired the same actor. We’re saying this is a whole new … era, or variant?”

As Born Again officially takes place in the MCU’s continuity, and Netflix’s Daredevil show is now available to watch on Disney+, that means the events of Born Again will likely happen at least nine years after the events of Daredevil season 3 (if it’s finally recognized as canon). There’s no reason multiple plot points couldn’t have been resolved within that time frame. The Blip, did, after all, change the world significantly.

Perhaps the better term for Daredevil: Born Again is “soft reboot”—a term ambiguous enough to mean anything.

(featured image: Netflix)