A stunt double from Netflix's Daredevil revealed Marvel Studios denied a request from Matt Murdock actor Charlie Cox for Disney+'s Daredevil: Born Again.
Marvel Studios has been clear Disney+'s Daredevil: Born Again will be a "new beginning" and not serve as Season 4 of the Netflix show.
The Daredevil revival already abandoned one key crew member through stunt double Chris Brewster, who has since shared his belief the studio is making a "big mistake" by leaving behind much of the original team.
The stunt double even went as far as to criticize Marvel Studios' reinvention of Daredevil as simply "bad" and compared him to a "cartoon."
Marvel Denied Charlie Cox's Daredevil Revival Request
The Ikuzo Unscripted podcast recently sat down with Chris Brewster - the stunt double for Charlie Cox's Daredevil in his Netflix series - who revealed Marvel Studios denied one of the actor's requests for Disney+'s Daredevil: Born Again.
According to Brewster, he has not worked on the project, despite his initial expectation to be brought back for Born Again as "Charlie [Cox] specifically requests [him] on everything:"
“But ultimately, 'Born Again', I had no doubt that they were going to reach out to me. Charlie specifically requests me on everything, and he always goes out of his way, and fights for me to be there."
He added how Cox "asked them over and over" to bring Brewster back for the Disney+ revival but he "never even got a phone call," with none of the crew from the Netflix series supposedly returning:
"And he asked them over and over to bring me in, and I never even got a phone call. Ironically, nobody that worked on Seasons 1, 2, or 3 went back.”
Charlie Cox has openly praised Chris Brewster's work before, such as in an interview with Nylon to promote Daredevil Season 2 where he explained how he is "so good" to the point they both "struggle to know who’s who:"
"It’s very hard to know because Chris Brewster, my stunt double, is so good that he learned to move like me. Both him and I struggle to know who’s who."
The MCU star also noted how Brewster always looks "professional" in the intense moments of action, running, and stunts:
"I do as much of it as I can, which basically means I do all the punching and the kicking and the running and all of that, and then Chris does it, as well, because he does it better than me and he looks more professional than when I do it, obviously. The only stuff I don’t do is whenever there’s a big 360 kick or a huge double backflip or something—that’s always Chris."
Speaking with Biff Bam Pop! during the 2016 promotion of Daredevil Season 2, Cox noted how he had "full trust" in Brewster and director Phil Abraham, praising them as "the best in the trade:"
“There’s a lot of reservations but I have full trust in Phil Abraham and Chris Brewster, they just really are the best in the trade.”
Why Daredevil: Born Again Abandoned the Netflix Crew
As Marvel Studios appears to be going to lengths to separate Daredevil: Born Again from the original Daredevil, perhaps the decision to abandon the Netflix crew for (what appears to be) a soft reboot was to ensure the two series offered a distinctly different tone, atmosphere, and style.
This becomes particularly apparent when looking at Chris Brewster's established relationship with Marvel Studios working on recent projects such as Loki, Ms. Marvel, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and even the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World.
Since Brewster has been employed by Marvel Studios on many occasions, it's clear the decision to replace him was not out of a lack of interest in working with him at all, but rather a specific desire to separate him from the Daredevil character.
Not to mention, Marvel Studios also appears to be targeting a different style of Daredevil with more acrobatics, speed, and agility than what was seen on Netflix, which may have left Brewster as the lesser choice for the stunt role in favor of someone more experienced in that style.
Daredevil: Born Again is set to release on Disney+ in Spring 2024, although a delay is likely after production was shut down due to the ongoing writer's strike.
