The 2019 cancellation of all Netflix-produced Marvel shows, due mainly to the launch of Disney+, marked the end of a string of the highly regarded Defenders saga. Due to contractual obligations, Disney and Marvel had to wait two years after the cancellation to begin reusing the characters involved in these series if they wanted to. Since then, we’ve seen Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin characters make returns in other Marvel properties. But Daredevil: Born Again, debuting its first 2 episodes this week on Disney +, is the first time Marvel has officially rebooted one of the Netflix series. With other familiar faces also along for the ride, the only question fans might have of the series is, will it retain the dark gritty edge it was known for?

One year after tragedy strikes the law firm of Nelson, Murdoch, and Page, depicted in the first 15 minutes of the first episode, we meet back up with Matt Murdoch (Cox), who has put away the Daredevil mantle since that fateful night. Now, working alongside a former assistant district attorney turned defense lawyer and partner, Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James), Matt has kept his darker side tucked down inside a mountain of guilt. However, criminal mastermind Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (D’Onofrio), having recovered from the events of the Echo finale, not only announces his entry but wins the mayoral race for New York. This announcement shakes up Matt’s world.

Fisk consistently professes his love for New York and his desire to make it better as his reason for running. He quickly finds allies in an overly zealous rookie press agent, Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini), and former mafia enforcer turned security head Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan). But Wilson’s wife, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), who has successfully taken over all of Fisk’s underground dealings in his absence since being shot, is still wary of his true intentions, as the pair have become estranged. The couple start to see a counselor,  Dr Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), who just happens to also be Matt’s newest flame after Karen Page’s (Deborah Ann Woll) move to San Francisco. To also add fire into the mix comes Genneya Walton as BB Urich, the niece of Vonde Curtis-Hall’s Ben Urich from the original Daredevil series, as a streetwise blogger/reporter.

Without getting into specific details and spoilers too much about the plot, Fisk becomes mayor in the very first episode and all of the trailers leading up to the series explores that fact, I can definitely put some fans’ fears to rest. Daredevil: Born Again may not have wall to wall action, as there is a lot  more political intrigue this time around. But when it reaches back for the action, it goes for the jugular. Born Again delivers on the literal bone crunching visual effects of its predecessor, not afraid to spill gallons of blood. The series reportedly went through an overhaul back in 2023 after being deemed to be straying too far from the original series. This resulted in the hiring of Moon Knight and Loki season 2 directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead to overhaul the episodes where needed and finish the filming of the rest of the episodes with new scripts, with winning results. The former indie genre filmmakers turned Marvel darlings certainly know their way around a bucket of blood or two.

And to say that seeing both Cox and D’Onofiro back sparring as their counterparts in a new series isn’t just overwhelmingly satisfying would be an understatement. Cox and D’Onofiro rival Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr in the perfect casting department; as of now, it would be very hard to see another actor inhabit either role. This time around, though, the duo’s journeys are mirrored perfectly as both men ultimately struggle to come to terms with their other lives and whether they can move past them. This allows both of them to stretch out a bit more this time around and flex their enormous acting chops. But weasel-y Daniel, played brilliantly by Gandolfini, whose father was once the leading candidate to play Kingpin before his passing, steals the show almost every time he shows up. The rest of the cast here does admirable work too, with standouts including Nikki M. James and Margarita Levieva as the two new women in Murdoch’s life. Plus, some other familiar faces to Marvel stalwarts also pop up to make appearances along the way.

The script seems even more timely considering recent events, with Fisk’s true intentions always held behind a closed veil. The show’s take on police corruption and hero worship of Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, ripped right from real life headlines, feels timely and well thought out. But kudos must go to writers here for showing restraint as well, for not allowing the series to fall into caricature and trying to comment on current events too much. The original plans for this season were meant to be an 18 episode run, but with the overhaul and new personnel brought back in 2023, splitting that into two seasons of nine episodes time around and eight for Season 2 has been the result. As such, the series does seem to end with more of an eye looking forward than a real conclusion.

Fans of the original Daredevil series on Netflix should find a lot to love in Daredevil: Born Again. Despite being under the Disney umbrella, Born Again pulls no punches and delivers the bone shattering action Daredevil fan have been waiting for. And with a few surprises along the way, Daredevil: Born Again should do a lot to restore faith in Marvel’s television series going forward from here. But ultimately, it should mainly leave fans clamoring for the second season due next year.