Daredevil: Born Again: Michael Gandolfini’s character for the upcoming MCU show has been revealed

Last Updated on October 12, 2023

The Man Without Fear is set to make his return to the Marvel Universe with Daredevil: Born Again. Charlie Cox will be suiting back up (likely in the new yellow color scheme seen in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) as Hell’s Kitchen resident Matt Murdock. Cox will be joined by the former Netflix series cast Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin and Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher as well as include Sandrine Holt as Vanessa Fisk. There are also actors in undisclosed roles, including Margarita Levieva, Nikki M. James, Michael Gaston, Arty Froushan, and Clark Johnson. One actor whose role in the upcoming Disney+ show used to be undisclosed is Michael Gandolfini. That is until Marvel lowkey revealed who he will be playing. According to CBR.com, the pilot episode has been listed at the U.S. Copyright Office, and Gandolfini’s role is listed as Daniel Blade. It was rumored that Gandolfini may have been cast to play a younger version of D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk. Those theories were perhaps influenced by Gandolfini similarly partaking in the portrayal of a young Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark due to the resemblance to of his father James Gandolfini.

Daniel Blade is not a known pre-existing character in the Marvel Universe, so the nature of this role is yet to be revealed. However, the mere title of the character doesn’t exactly sway fans away from the theory that Gandolfini won’t be a young Fisk, given he also shares a resemblance to Vincent D’Onofrio’s features. Marvel has become almost spy-like with their secrets, and some think “Daniel Blade” may still be an alias of some kind.

Gandolfini previously spoke with Collider about his casting, saying, “I believe all I can say about my character is that my character is from Staten Island, and that’s about it.” He also talks about his excitement for joining the MCU, “I mean, it’s incredible. It’s so, so exciting and daunting and everyone is so nice and so talented. I remember getting my first text from the producer, I was driving, and it said, ‘Welcome to the MCU!’ You see that and it just, like, hits you, you know? I teared up, and it’s just like, ‘Oh my God!’ I’m very grateful and lucky.'”