WARNING: This article includes MAJOR SPOILERS from Daredevil: Born Again season 1, episode 1.The Daredevil: Born Again showrunner and one of the show’s executive producers have shed more light on the decision to kill a major fan-favorite character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series. After a long development process, the Daredevil: Born Again TV show has finally arrived, continuing one of the most popular heroes in the entire MCU franchise. However, for long-time fans of the original Daredevil series on Netflix, the return of Matt Murdock came with a huge fallout, as the series premiere saw the tragic death of Foggy Nelson at the hands of Bullseye.
In an interview with ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley, Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane and executive producer Sana Amanat were asked about Foggy’s sudden MCU ending, which was apparently always part of the plan for the Disney+ drama. Scardapane confirmed that prior to the creative overhaul, Daredevil: Born Again would have established that Foggy died off-screen, as he and Amanat explained how his death also had some help from Charlie Cox:
Dario Scardapane: It was an inevitability! Truth be told…In the original version, before I came in, he had died, but it was off-screen, and for me, it couldn’t be off-screen. You had to feel it and that’s why that statement happened literally. It’s like [if] you’re going to kill off Foggy, it has to be the three of them [who] come back. That loss has to be felt, and that loss has to be an earthquake. That shatters Matt, [it] makes him put away the mask, [it] has a ripple effect. And again, Karen’s not gone. So what is the breakup of a family after a death in the family, and what happens when they come back together?
Liam Crowley: In all seriousness, though, I think that was a very important moment to set the show off in the right direction, and you guys should be very proud. This is an awesome show.
Dario Scardapane: It was not taken lightly. There was a lot of conversation about how to do it, and it was Charlie who came up with the idea of having Foggy’s heartbeat in his ear the entire time. Charlie came in, we played out a whole lot of that action sequence, and we were basically boarding it, and Charlie was like, ‘Well…what if? And it was like, ‘Of course, yes!’
Sana Amanat: We changed it.
Dario Scardapane: And we made all the changes to accommodate that.
Sana Amanat: You need to feel that emotion. He’s too important of a character, and you will continue to feel his presence. It’s not the last of him, is all we’re going to say.
Dario Scardapane: It’s not the last of him.
While there had been rumblings that Foggy was getting killed in the original iteration of the series, it’s clear that Scardapane and Amanat are aware of how it would be a massively controversial way to open up the Daredevil: Born Again story by losing one of the most crucial characters in Matt’s life. Given how many years it has been since Daredevil ended its run on Netflix, giving Foggy an off-screen death rather than bringing Elden Henson back at least one more time would have been a disservice to fans who have followed these characters since 2015.
Even though Foggy’s death is heartbreaking, showing the audience what happened definitely appears to be the right move with this tragic storyline. Based on Scardapane and Amanat’s comments, it sounds like the loss of Foggy will definitely drive Matt a lot through the rest of Daredevil. Born Again season 1.
Given it’s specifically noted that viewers haven’t seen the last of Foggy, it wouldn’t be shocking if Hensen appears either through flashbacks or hallucinations later in the season. But needless to say, seeing the MCU timeline without Foggy now that Daredevil is back full-time is definitely going to pull many heartstrings in the audience.
While time will tell how fans respond to Foggy’s ending, hearing how much thought Scardapane, Amanat, and the creative team put into this decision proves it wasn’t made lightly. Even if this may have less of an impact on viewers who are being introduced to the world of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen with Daredevil: Born Again, this is definitely one of the darkest Daredevil chapters for those who have been tuning in since the Marvel-Netflix days. Hopefully, the teases of seeing more Foggy in Daredevil: Born Again will happen sooner rather than later.
Daredevil: Born Again episodes 1 and 2 are now streaming on Disney+, with consecutive episodes being released weekly starting on Tuesday, March 11.
Daredevil: Born Again
9/10
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Showrunner
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Chris Ord
- Directors
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Michael Cuesta, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Chris Ord