Believe it or not, more than ten years have passed since the original Daredevil series debuted as a game-changing Netflix streaming original in early 2015, introducing Charlie Cox as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. He reprised the role of Matt Murdock for Daredevil: Born Again earlier in the 2025 TV schedule, and this performance was much more in line with the Netflix show than his appearance in She-Hulk. The leading man looked back at the original audition process and when he knew he would be playing the Marvel hero.
Cox, who will return as Daredevil in 2026 for Season 2 of Born Again, opened up on Deadline's Crew Call podcast about his multiple rounds of auditioning for the starring role in what would be the show that set the stage for series like Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. He shared:
I remember in one of the final rounds, we were reading the scene. There’s a scene in Episode 2 where I have a Russian guy tied up on a rooftop. I’m there with Rosario Dawson. Although at this point, she obviously wasn’t cast. And I remember one of the lines is ‘I’m doing this because I enjoy it.’ ‘My secret is I’m doing this because I enjoy it.’ It was something like that, I can’t remember. It was a really cool scene. It’s beautifully written. It was one of the episodes that Drew Goddard wrote.
It's strange to think back to a time when not only was Charlie Cox not yet confirmed for the MCU, but Rosario Dawson was still auditioning to play Claire as well. I actually went back with my Disney+ subscription to rewatch the moment that Cox mentioned, which was back in the days of Matt Murdock still wearing his basic black suit and mask. (The moment starts at around the 40-minute mark in Episode 2 of the original Daredevil, if you want to revisit it yourself.)
I'd totally forgotten that Matt had flung a man off of a rooftop early in the series, although the circumstances certainly weren't the same as his confrontation with Bullseye to start Born Again. Honestly, looking back at this point, I wish that Jon Bernthal's violent Frank Castle could meet Season 1 Matt Murdock and watch that interaction. As far as I'm concerned, I can see why this is a scene that locked Cox in for the role that would massively change his career (and his body). He went on:
I remember doing it a bunch of times. I can’t remember, they gave me a specific note toward the end, and we did it one more time. And they said in the room, ‘That’s Matt Murdock. That’s Daredevil.’ I don’t actually know what it was that was different. But I remember feeling the energy in the room change.
Charlie Cox may not know what exact change was the one that won him the role of Daredevil, but it was enough to not only propel him through three seasons of his Netflix solo show, but also one season of The Defenders and now a new show on Disney+. The version of Born Again that ultimately released on the Disney streamer felt a lot more closely tied to the Netflix series than was originally planned, with Elden Henson's Foggy originally being killed off-screen and Deborah Ann Woll's Karen being omitted entirely.
The creative overhaul for Daredevil: Born Again brought in Dario Scardapane, who had been a writer and producer for The Punisher back in the Netflix days, as showrunner, and he pushed for Karen and Foggy's returns. Alas, Foggy's return didn't last long, but the Born Again Season 1 finale set Karen up for what could be a much bigger role in Season 2 opposite Charlie Cox.
Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again is currently in production, with an expected premiere date in March 2026. In the meantime, you can always revisit those original first three seasons or take another look at Born Again Season 1, all on Disney+.
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