Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock will be missing two close friends and confidants in Daredevil: Born Again, with Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson not expected to return for the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe series.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Woll and Henson will not reprise their respective roles from Netflix's Daredevil series as Karen Page and Foggy Nelson in the upcoming Disney+ series. It is unclear whether their characters will be recast for Born Again or if they will be excluded entirely from the story. The news was part of a larger story about Jon Bernthal coming back to play Frank Castle/The Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again, making him the third actor after Cox's Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk/Kingpin to reprise their Netflix Marvel role in the MCU proper.
Both actors played prominent roles in the original Daredevil as well as in several of Netflix's other Marvel series in a guest capacity. Woll in particular appeared opposite Bernthal's Frank Castle in five episodes of The Punisher. While their omission in Daredevil: Born Again will be felt by some fans, Marvel Studios is likely hoping that fans will latch onto the series' new characters played by MCU newcomers like Michael Gandolfini, Margarita Levieva, Sandrine Holt and Nikki M. James among others.
Echo Sets the Stage for Born Again
Ahead of Daredevil: Born Again, Cox and D'Onofrio will reprise their respective roles in the Hawkeye spinoff Echo, which picks up with Alaqua Cox's Maya Lopez after the events of the 2021 Disney+ limited series. While plot details remain under wraps for Echo, reports have indicated that Cox's Daredevil and D'Onofrio's Kingpin will have prominent roles. Daredevil's storyline will reportedly involve him seeking out "a former ally" while Kingpin's will see the antagonist running for mayor of New York City. Both storylines are expected to continue in Daredevil: Born Again.
D'Onofrio has stated that fans will be very surprised by Born Again, referring to the upcoming series as "very cool" and very different from "the Netflix show which as we know was amazing." He continued, "[T]his is brand new and really smart. We are going to surprise everyone with it."
Filming on Daredevil: Born Again's 18-episode first season began in February 2023 in New York City under the working title "Out the Kitchen" and the production company title "Blind Faith Productions, LLC." Filming on the Marvel Studios production is expected to last until the year's end in December.
Daredevil: Born Again is to premiere on Disney+ in 2024.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter