Marvel Studios Is Overhauling How It Makes TV, Daredevil Writers Fired - Report

Daredevil: Born Again is undergoing a significant creative overhaul, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Head writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman have been let go, and the production is reportedly seeking new writers to breathe new life into the show.

According to the report, Marvel Studios used the writers' strike as an opportunity to evaluate the show's current footage. With input from Chief Kevin Feige, it became evident that the series was not meeting expectations. Corman and Ord apparently crafted a legal procedural that diverged from the more action-packed Netflix version. Charlie Cox, portraying Matt Murdock, didn't don his costume until the fourth episode, leading Marvel to reconsider the show's initial concept, despite having already given it the green light. By late September, "fewer than half of the series' 18 episodes" were filmed, but that was enough to make the call.

As a result, along with the show's head writers, the remaining directors for the season have reportedly been let go as the series embarks on a substantial rethinking. The studio is actively seeking new writers and directors. Although Daredevil remains unable to resume full-scale production due to the ongoing actors' strike, negotiations are in progress with the studios to enable their return to work. The Writers Guild of America recently reached an agreement with the studios to end the strike, with 99% of the guild's members voting in favor of the deal.

Marvel is also reportedly planning a comprehensive adjustment to its serialized TV production approach. Although it's unclear if this will be applied to Daredevil: Born Again, The Hollywood Reporter states that Marvel is strongly interested in recruiting showrunners--and requiring them to write pilots and show bibles--rather than solely relying on head writers working with studio executives, to oversee their series "from start to finish."

The latter model reportedly became common practice as a result of productions ramping up during the pandemic, and most noticeably wasn't resonating with critics in Secret Invasion. (GameSpot's reviews praised the early episodes, though noted the episodes were frequently bogged down with pacing issues due to an overwhelming amount of plot crammed in.) The Hollywood Reporter notes that the creative team overseeing the Samuel L. Jackson-led series was almost entirely replaced mid-production, and the show charged forward despite scheduling and personnel frictions.

"We're trying to marry the Marvel culture with the traditional television culture," said Brad Winderbaum, Marvel's head of streaming, television, and animation. "It comes down to, 'How can we tell stories in television that honor what's so great about the source material?'"

In September, Steven DeKnight, the showrunner for Netflix's Marvel Daredevil series, criticized the upcoming Disney+ show as an "old Disney scam" that may impact the financial rights of the original series' creators.