Daredevil: Born Again Is off To an Exciting Start

Last week, beloved Marvel vigilante Daredevil, aka Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), returned to our TV screens after many years. If the viewer numbers are accurate, this is a promising start for Daredevil: Born Again.

Daredevil: Born Again premiered March 4 on Disney+, drawing a total of 7.5 million views in its first five days of streaming. Views are estimated by dividing the total streaming time by the episode runtime. As of now, this is the biggest streaming debut on Disney+ this year.

Tracking Disney+ viewership for its original content is challenging, as the company does not regularly release its statistics. To put it in perspective, the premiere of fellow Marvel original Agatha All Along hit 9.3 million views in its first week last September. Percy Jackson and the Olympians debuted with 13.3 million views in December 2023. Star Wars original The Acolyte gained 11.1 million views in its first five days, and Ahsoka hit 14 million that same time frame after its debut in August 2023.

It would be improbable to compare the statistics of Daredevil: Born Again and Netflix’s Daredevil, given their different methods of releasing content. However, when season one of Daredevil was released on Netflix, it drew in an estimated 10.7% of subscribers tuning into at least one episode in the first 11 days, translating to 4.4 million viewers.

Daredevil: Born Again or Matt Murdock Reborn?

In Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock gives up the mask in the face of great personal tragedy, entirely devoting his time to fighting for justice as a criminal lawyer. Meanwhile, his biggest rival, crime boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), aka Kingpin, has reinvented himself into a mayoral candidate in the New York City election.

Also returning in the transition from Netflix to Disney+ are Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), and Wilson Bethel (Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter/Bullseye). As the season progresses, you may not see much of Henson.

The first season of Daredevil: Born Again will consist of nine episodes. Season two is currently in production and is slated to premiere mid-next year at the latest. Last week, Deadline reported that Matthew Lillard would join the cast for those nine episodes.

Daredevil is not the only Netflix character making a comeback. Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), aka Punisher, will be an integral part of this season. But beyond that, the brutal vigilante will receive a feature from Marvel Studios Special Presentations. Bernthal will co-write the special feature with Reinaldo Marcus Green. This feature is also expected sometime next year.

New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again will premiere on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+.