Former Daredevil showrunner calls Born Again a “scam”

Last Updated on September 27, 2023

If you’re looking forward to Daredevil: Born Again, one reason could be that you aren’t losing out on any royalties. Steven DeKnight, who served as showrunner for the original Daredevil series’ first season, is coming after Disney for their rebranding of the character and property, saying it’s a “scam” .

DeKnight’s take on the Daredevil reboot comes from a post on X (formerly Twitter) by a grip, who is also a member of the union IATSE. “And not only did they cancel Daredevil once crew got full raise and holiday/vacation pay…. The Disney+ reboot is back to season one IATSE contract terms. It’s a fucking scam. I wonder if @stevendeknight knows that!”

To this, Steven DeKnight responded, “He does. It’s an old Disney scam where they slightly rename a series to reset contract terms back to first season. Needs to be addressed by all the guilds/unions and crushed!” DeKnight also wrote and directed the season one finale, in addition to writing two other episodes.

Still, DeKnight did backtrack a bit so as not to bash those involved on the more talented side of Daredevil: Born Again, clarifying, “To be clear, I can’t wait to see Charlie Cox and the amazing @VincentDonofrio reprise their iconic rolls. But to claim this is a complete reboot and you don’t have to pay the original creatives is some corporate shenanigans, to say the least.” While we don’t know if DeKnight will actually support the show in terms of watching, we do know that lead Charlie Cox – who plays Daredevil aka Matt Murdock – is incredibly excited to reprise the role.

DeKnight’s gripe undoubtedly comes back to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike – which affected the release of Daredevil: Born Again – in terms of residuals and studio attempts to make as much money as possible off of the creatives. Talks are expected to continue this week as the strike is well into its fourth month.

How do you feel about Steven DeKnight’s take that Daredevil: Born Again is just a “scam” on the part of Disney? Are you looking forward to the show regardless? Give us your thoughts below!