Here’s a true jaw-dropper, bigger than the one that ended this week’s episode of Daredevil: Born Again, and spoilers past this point: Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini) was supposed to live. In fact, Marvel filmed the rest of the season with him alive… Only changing it to an on-screen death during editing, using CGI.
In the episode, after Daniel gives BB Urich (Genneya Walton) his phone and tells the mayoral office leaker to run for her life, he delays Kingpin’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) right hand Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan) by confessing she’s gone and he doesn’t know where. Buck tortures Daniel, and eventually pulls a gun on him, clearly hesitant to kill the Deputy Mayor — probably because they once shared a hot dog, or something. Anyway, he does shoot Daniel, and we’re left with the man bleeding out on the floor of an abandoned apartment, as the episode ends.
However, in an interview with Variety, it was revealed that wasn’t the ending that was shot. Not at all. In fact, as showrunner Dario Scardapane clarified, originally Buck let Daniel live, then lied about what he did to Kingpin, telling the baddie he killed Daniel.
In a big spoiler for what happens in the finale of the season — though you all could probably guess this part — they even filmed scenes showing that once the Fisk administration falls, Daniel went to resign to the new, interim mayor (who has already been revealed in trailers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day). However, they don’t take his resignation, and instead decides to keep him close “because I don’t trust you.”
That clearly would have set Daniel up for a role in the currently filming Season 3. However, after watching the edit of the episodes, Scardapane tells the trade that the story, “was kind of meh and a non-story… Sometimes the arc is built in and you’re extending it a little too far. Like, wait a second. He and Buck, in their twisted friendship, both had to be true to who they were. That’s the last moment because everything afterwards seemed kind of like a weird, lame coda that didn’t pay off.”
After calling Gandolfini to let him know they were changing direction, something the actor approved of, they added a gunshot sound effect and “CGI’ed me shooting them in the head,” likely according to Froushan, though this quote only appears in the headline and not the piece itself. Now, Daniel won’t return, instead of continuing to be a major character going forward. Wild! Time to start making some “Daniel Blake Lives” shirts, and rake in the money.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 premieres on Tuesday March 24 on Disney+ at 9pm ET / 6pm PT, with new episodes weekly except for the second week which has two episodes to make room for a Punisher one-shot special episode on May 12.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 with premiere dates:
- Tuesday, March 24, 2026: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 1, “The Northern Star”
- Tuesday, March 31, 2026: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 2, “Shoot The Moon”
- Tuesday, March 31, 2026: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 3, “The Scales & The Sword”
- Tuesday, April 7, 2026: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 4, “Gloves Off”
- Tuesday, April 14, 2026: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 5, “The Grand Design”
- Tuesday, April 21, 2026: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 6, “Requiem”
- Tuesday, April 28, 2026: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 7, “The Hateful Darkness”
- Tuesday, May 5, 2026: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 8, “The Southern Cross” *Season Finale*
- Tuesday, May 12, 2026: The Punisher: One Last Kill – Marvel Special Presentation
Where To Watch Daredevil: Born Again
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