Matt Murdock literally did not see this one coming. For that matter, neither did we, and we weren’t blinded by a chemical spill. Despite the critical success Disney has had with Daredevil: Born Again, it’s being killed off, again. The upcoming season three will be the last for the show.
What’s Happening at Disney?
We’re not sure what’s going on over at the house of Marvel and Mouse. It doesn’t seem good, though. We’ve previously discussed how they seem to be horribly managing their content lately. Especially when it comes to superhero material. Kevin Feige opened up about how they completely dropped the ball on Blade. We also reported that Wonder Man‘s second season was cancelled after it was already greenlit.
There was already a big culling of material that happened when former CEO Bob Iger came back into his old position. That was back in 2022. He instituted a “quality over quantity” approach that is still being felt today. It wouldn’t be surprising if part of this surprising cancellation came down to costs. Disney sank a lot of money into Daredevil: Born Again. You may remember that midway through filming season one, the show was scrapped and retooled. That’s not a cheap decision to make.
An Abrupt End?
Filming reportedly wrapped for the third season around two months ago. Currently, it sits in post-production. That would also presumably mean that unless the third season was planned with a solid ending, it’s not going to get one. Even showrunner Dario Scardapane didn’t have his contract renewed. So he’s allegedly not even part of the post-production. Is this Disney cutting costs? Was there a falling out? These are good questions with no direct answers at the moment.
We’re guessing it’s an overall strategy of reducing superhero programming. We mentioned the other cuts Disney has done. They’re not alone. Warner Bros. Paramount have axed upcoming DC shows, and Amazon Prime did not pick up Spider-Noir for a second season. Even though it nabbed itself some Emmy Awards. Maybe it’s sinking in finally that outside of select heroes, like Spider-Man and the actual Avengers, the genre reached critical mass. But Daredevil: Born Again seemed like it would have a strong enough following to keep it going. That’s why we think it has to be a cost factor.
What Does This Mean for Future Projects?
We’ll have to see if Daredevil actor Charlie Cox or Kingpin actor Vincent D’Onofrio have something to say about this. D’Onofrio has not been one to keep his thoughts unspoken on matters like this. He’s been pretty passionate in the past about his role as Kingpin. It’ll also be interesting to see if more cancellations happen in the wake of this Daredevil: Born Again news. Interesting or upsetting. Depends on how you look at it. Either way, we’ll continue to keep you updated.
