Marvel's journey into the world of streaming shows is well-documented at this point, but it's still easy to forget how messy it was when it kicked off. Back in 2015 it was in partnership with Netflix, well before the days of Disney+, and the first big outcome was Marvel's Daredevil.
Now, 10 years later, the show, or at least its central protagonists and antagonist, are back, in the form of Daredevil: Born Again. The first proper trailer dropped this week after months of anticipation, and it looks like a surprisingly violent return for the show.
For one thing, the trailer shows us a few looks at the trio of actors returning in lead roles from the original show – Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson, along with the big baddie, Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk. It was unclear for a while whether all of them would be signed up, so fans will be relieved to see them present and correct.
In fact, they're not the only familiar face – Jon Bernthal is also back as Frank Castle, raising the likelihood of the Punisher also getting his own standalone show on Disney+ at some point. That brings us to the other big topic from the trailer, which is its brutality.
Marvel's most violent show ever is still undoubtedly The Punisher, but Daredevil was a bit of a groundbreaker in terms of how punchy its fights were. This time out, it looks like things will be even grittier, with plenty of blood and broken bones on evidence even in the trailer.
How Disney handles the age-rating of the show, and whether it locks children's accounts out of watching it, will remain to be seen, but it certainly looks like it'll be a mature watch. It's clear that we'll see Daredevil beating up folks plenty, but also Fisk himself going wild on some victims, and doubtless Frank Castle won't be left out of the fun.
All of this means that it's looking like a potentially triumphant return for a show that broke new ground back when it first arrived, and did so to critical adulation. Its first season has a 99% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, after all, which few Marvel shows can match. In fact, Marvel will very much be hoping that Born Again can come close to that mark when it arrives on 4 March – with the aim of cementing Disney+'s place among the best streaming services on the market.
