The success of Marvel Studios Animation’s X-Men ’97 makes one upcoming MCU Phase 5 series, Daredevil: Born Again, even more exciting. After Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio reprised their Marvel Television roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye, respectively, May 2022 saw Matt Murdock’s Daredevil and Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin confirmed to be returning in Daredevil: Born Again. Initially billed as an 18-episode season, Daredevil: Born Again has since been through many changes, including bringing in new writers, hiring showrunner Dario Scardapane, and shifting narrative direction, completely reinventing the series, which is expected to premiere in the MCU’s Phase 5.
This creative overhaul occurred following 2023’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, after Marvel Studios executives expressed unhappiness with the first six episodes of the series, which had already been filmed. Since then, more actors from Marvel Television’s Daredevil series have been confirmed to be returning in Daredevil: Born Again’s cast, including Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel and Ayelet Zurer. This was also shortly followed by the integration of Netflix’s Defenders Saga into the MCU’s main timeline, and Marvel Studios has recently revealed more about the thinking behind these changes, which spell good news for the highly-anticipated Phase 5 series.
Daredevil: Born Again’s X-Men ’97 Inspiration Makes The Show Even More Hype
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in March 2024, Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum revealed that Daredevil: Born Again’s changes were influenced by the experience working on other shows, including Loki and X-Men ’97. These comments were made prior to X-Men ’97’s premiere on March 20, but carry new meaning now that the series, a continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series from the 1990s, has achieved a huge level of success. This is especially true after Variety reported that X-Men ’97 is the third-most-watched Disney+ series in 2024, falling behind Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Marvel Studios’ Echo.
Frankly, a lot of that [ Daredevil: Born Again’s reinvention] was influenced as much from Loki as it was from our X-Men ’97 experience. It’s about honoring what came before in order to find a new arc for these iconic characters. So I am really excited about what’s on the horizon. There’s some great, great work coming down the pipe that audiences are going to really love.
The fact that X-Men ’97 has performed so well, with many naming it one of the strongest projects to be developed in Marvel Studios’ history, and the fact that this series inspired Daredevil: Born Again, raises excitement for the upcoming Phase 5 series. Daredevil: Born Again’s tumultuous production period has caused some concern, but Marvel Studios’ recent slowdown of output and shift in TV production spells good news for the MCU’s future. Interestingly, Daredevil: Born Again and X-Men ’97 are actually remarkably similar, so it makes sense that Born Again would take inspiration from the other revived Marvel Studios series.
How X-Men ’97 Can Inspire Daredevil: Born Again’s Story
Originally, Daredevil: Born Again wasn’t planned to be a pseudo-season 4 of Netflix’s Daredevil. However, the series may now be taking inspiration from X-Men ’97 to properly revive old characters in the MCU, as X-Men ’97 brought back the X-Men heroes from X-Men: The Animated Series and brought them a new lease of life. Daredevil: Born Again now seems to be a direct continuation of Daredevil, what with the inclusions of Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, Bullseye and others, and the development of these characters’ stories in the MCU will be done justice, if X-Men ’97 is anything to go by.
