Vincent D’Onofrio finally talked about one of Daredevil: Born Again’s most controversial behind-the-scenes decisions. Speaking at Rhode Island Comic-Con 2025, the actor opened up about Marvel Studios initially recasting Vanessa Fisk before bringing back original actress Ayelet Zurer.
This marks the first time D’Onofrio publicly discussed the recasting and subsequent reversal. His comments provide new insight into the creative overhaul that transformed Born Again Season 1 and how both he and Charlie Cox fought to restore the Netflix cast.
A fan asked D’Onofrio about the most brutal moment of Born Again Season 1, referencing Kingpin crushing a man’s head. The actor used the question to reveal deeper struggles behind the scenes. "The first season was a lot of work, man," D’Onofrio explained.
"Charlie and I had to… At first, we were going in the wrong direction and we had to turn… We had to stop a train that was going and that’s not a small thing. That’s like a huge thing."
He thanked Kevin Feige for ultimately supporting the course correction:
"Thank God we’re working for a guy like Kevin Feige and the people, all everybody that works under him. So, things were able to switch to back to the way we wanted it."
D’Onofrio then directly addressed the Vanessa situation:
"It’s funny, when Deborah [Ann Woll] was just talking about being hurt, about not being invited back, Charlie and I were hurting for her. We were like, ‘Why is Deborah not here? Where is Foggy? We need our cast."
He revealed that Vanessa's recasting particularly bothered him. "They had cast another wonderful actress as my wife but she wasn’t Ayelet." He then stated emphatically that "Ayelet is Vanessa, period. That’s it."
The actor described fighting for the creative overhaul as the most intense part of Season 1:
"For me, as an actor, the most intense part of the first season was getting that train to stop. I mean, literally, Charlie and I would… the metaphor would be, we got on the tracks of the train coming at us and just going like that, ‘Stop!’"
Marvel Studios originally cast Sandrine Holt as Vanessa Fisk when Daredevil: Born Again entered production in 2023. Holt, known for roles in House of Cards, Homeland, and Mayor of Kingstown, filmed scenes under original showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord.
Ayelet Zurer originated the role in Netflix’s Daredevil, appearing throughout Season 1 and returning for multiple Season 3 episodes. She portrayed Vanessa Marianna, an art gallery curator who fell in love with Wilson Fisk and eventually became complicit in his criminal empire.
The recasting reflected Corman and Ord’s broader approach to Born Again. They envisioned a soft reboot, keeping only Cox and D’Onofrio from the Netflix cast. Their version also wrote off Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page and killed Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson off-screen.
Set photos from April 2024 first revealed Zurer returned to the role. Photographer Steve Sands captured images of her on the New York set alongside D’Onofrio. The reversal came after Marvel Studios halted production in May 2023 and initiated a complete creative overhaul.
Marvel Studios invited Zurer back roughly 13 months after Holt’s casting became public. The decision came as part of the broader return to the Netflix series’ cast and tone.
Vincent D’Onofrio Fought for Major Changes to Daredevil: Born Again
After discussing the recasting struggle, D’Onofrio highlighted the Season 1 moment that justified the fight. He praised the diner scene between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk that opens Born Again.
"That was a scene that we’ve always wanted to play, him and I," D’Onofrio explained. "We know that we can’t do a lot of scenes together, because then it becomes pointless. It’s not as big a deal when we are together in the show, right?"
He passionately described the collaborative process behind the scenes:
"That particular scene was a scene that Dario [Scardapane] wrote. And then, Charlie, and I, and Dario, and one of our producers, Sana [Amanat], who’s amazing, we all sat in a room and tweaked it, and tweaked it, and tweaked it, and got that scene to be amazing and we went, and shot it."
The diner scene became a highlight of Season 1. Matt and Wilson meet as civilians, discussing their complicated history while maintaining a veneer of civility. The tension crackles beneath polite conversation, showcasing both actors’ chemistry. D’Onofrio called it the standout moment of Season 1. "That’s the one that stands out for me the most in the first season."
A fan later asked D’Onofrio about comparing Season 1 to Season 2, noting how Season 1 felt like a rebirth story with Matt retiring as Daredevil. The actor used the question to explain the complicated production history of Season 1.
"The second season was more exciting for me, the idea of approaching it," D’Onofrio said. "Because we left, we were able to Frankenstein the first season to get to the second season of the show we really wanted to make."
He acknowledged Season 1 contained compromises:
"Part of the first season is a bunch of stuff we had to live with, because we shot it already. And so, we did reshoot a lot. I would say 60%, but certain things we couldn’t and certain storylines, because we hired the actors, and they were all really good, and there were certain things that we had to stick with."
The Frankenstein metaphor illustrated the patchwork nature of Season 1. "It was all about getting a limb from this body, and putting it on that body, the head and switching it to another. We Frankensteined the whole thing."
Despite these challenges, D’Onofrio praised certain Season 1 elements. "There are parts of that first season that I think are wonderful and I’m glad we did it," he clarified. However, he emphasized Season 2’s superiority:
"I would say the second season is mine and Charlie’s. I’ll speak for Charlie… That was the first time we were able to do the show that we wanted to do again, absolutely."
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
