Charlie Cox says there was "no acting required" on Daredevil: Born Again

Charlie Cox is without question the definitive version of Daredevil. Ben Affleck may have played the character in the underrated 2003 movie, but Cox's performance in the 2015 Netflix series really presented The Man Without Fear as a main event level player in the Marvel live-action field. So when the character was eventually introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was no question about who should play him.

Years after the Netflix show's premature cancellation, Cox joined the MCU in multiple cameo appearances; the most significant being a guest spot in an episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. But it's all building towards a more long-term return, as the actor will reprise the role full-time in Disney Plus series Daredevil: Born Again.

He won't be the only one returning, either, as a number of cast members from the original show will reprise their roles. And that was something that Cox was extremely excited about when filming kicked off (the second time).

Charlie Cox on reuniting with Daredevil castmates in Born Again

Charlie Cox recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about reuniting with his Daredevil castmates on Disney Plus sequel series Daredevil: Born Again. The new series features the return of Matt Murdock's friends and colleagues Karen Page and Foggy Nelson, meaning that Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson will reprise their roles.

That was a thrilling experience for Cox, who said that shooting one of their earliest scenes on the series was simply like catching up with old friends - because that's what it was. He added that there was "no acting required" because the trio had a similar conversation in the green room prior to filming.

"The first day on set with Deborah, myself, and Elden was really special because the scene that was written was like a scene where we were reminiscing over old times and all the things we’ve done... we certainly hadn’t been together, the three of us, for a long time. So there was really, literally, no acting required. The conversation we were having in the green room was the same conversation we were having in the scene, pretty much."

This is actually incredibly heartwarming to hear, because that trio were very much the heart and soul of the original series. It's also particularly lovely because, for some reason, Foggy and Karen weren't part of the original vision for Born Again. The show hadn't planned on featuring them, but Marvel changed course on that particular version of the show when it had already started production, scrapping everything and starting over.

It was only then that the decision to evolve it into a sequel series to the original Daredevil show was made, allowing for Woll and Henson to return as the fan-favorite characters. And they weren't the only ones, as it was subsequently confirmed that Jon Bernthal was returning as Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher, and that the role of Vanessa Fisk - which had been recast in the original iteration of Born Again - would once again be played by Ayelet Zurer.

Vincent D'Onofrio, who played Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin, in the Netflix show was always set to reprise that role in the new series as he, like Cox, had begun playing the character in the MCU prior to Born Again's existence. However, it was initially believed that this particular version of Fisk (and Cox's version of Daredevil) would be different to the ones we met on the Netflix show. That is, until the decision to rework Born Again into a direct sequel canonized the events of the Netflix shows in the MCU.

D'Onofrio and Cox made their MCU debut within a week of each other, as the Kingpin surfaced in 2021 Disney Plus series Hawkeye while Matt Murdock made a cameo appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Daredevil has since returned in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, while both have appeared in Echo. They are next set to appear in Daredevil: Born Again.

Needless to say, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the upcoming series. While audiences were always ready to welcome back The Man Without Fear in a new show, there was a lot of criticism over the decision to ignore the original show and all of its beloved characters. The decision to rebrand it was Marvel's way of acknowledging that criticism while also paying the Netflix series' legacy the respect that it deserves.

Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Disney Plus in March 2025.