The Daredevil: Born Again series was initially intended to be 18 episodes long. However, the official announcement conveyed by Marvel Studios regarding Charlie Cox’s show ultimately revealed that the first season would instead span just nine episodes. As such, fans were understandably concerned about what this surprising modification could mean for the fate of the much-awaited show. In a recent discussion, Daredevil: Born Again co-executive producer and Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, addressed this issue, divulging the reason behind reducing the episode count.
Brad Winderbaum reveals Marvel wanted to try long-form TV with Daredevil series
Winderbaum stated that the creative team behind the series had to adjust their original vision for the series to incorporate 2023’s WGA strike and other relevant shutdowns.
The veteran MCU executive shared these updates during his recent appearance on Brandon Davis’ Phase Hero: A Film & TV Podcast. Talking about the number of episodes of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, Brad Winderbaum first explained the phases that Marvel TV shows have gone through over the years. He labeled the current one as the “experimental” era.
Winderbaum then shed light on his team’s decision to slash Daredevil: Born Again Season 1’s episode count from 18 to 9. “Our first conceit for Daredevil was let’s try a longer format. Let’s take this character and this world of New York City and build an ensemble,” he remarked. “Then we learned a lot of lessons doing it that way. So, because of a number of reasons, including the shutdowns due to the strikes, we were able to reassess the episodes and see what we had.”
However, the alteration ultimately served as a massive silver lining for the series, as per Winderbaum. “It’s just the best nine episodes. It feels like it is a great kind of first season,” he said while describing the first set of Daredevil: Born Again episodes. The seasoned producer also commented on the future of the show. He stated, “I think it’s a series that can run for multiple seasons.”
The opening chapter of Daredevil: Born Again will hit the small screens on March 4, 2025.
