The initial development of Daredevil: Born Again took a dramatically different direction. Under the original showrunning team of Matt Corman and Chris Ord, the project was envisioned as a courtroom procedural that separated Matt Murdock from his past history. Foggy and Karen were omitted entirely, relegated to passing references.
During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, Marvel executives reviewed the filmed footage and ordered an immediate creative overhaul. Kevin Feige and streaming lead Brad Winderbaum determined that the show lacked the tone and connective tissue that made the original run iconic. Dario Scardapane was brought in as showrunner, alongside directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.
One of their first mandates was bringing Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll back to the set. However, integrating legacy characters into an existing storyline presented complex narrative puzzles. The creative team wrestled with whether Foggy should survive the inciting incidents that kick off Matt’s new conflict with Vincent D'Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk. Cox revealed that the writers had multiple debates about whether Foggy could be kept active on the legal front or if a major tragedy had to spur Murdock back into the suit.
