Why John Wick Director Won’t Make MCU’s Daredevil Reboot

Chad Stahelski, who directed the John Wick movies, reveals why he wouldn’t direct Daredevil: Born Again. Daredevil’s first foray into television was with the eponymous Netflix series that aired for three seasons between 2015 and 2018. After Marvel pulled all its original programming from the streamer, the future of Charlie Cox’s Matt Mudrock remained unclear, with little hope for his return. Meanwhile, Marvel consolidated all of its shows on Disney+, prompting calls from hardcore Daredevil fans to leverage the opportunity to bring back the Man Without Fear to the screen. Their wish was finally granted in Spider-Man: No Way Home, with a subsequent announcement confirming that a new Daredevil show was officially happening at Disney+.

More details about the Daredevil reboot were revealed at Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2022 Hall H panel in July. There, Kevin Feige revealed that Cox would come back to play Mudrock once again, with Vincent D’Onofrio also reprising his Kingpin role. The show has received an 18-episode order, and it is scheduled to premiere in early 2024 as a part of Marvel’s Phase 5 slate. Before Cox returns as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, he will show up as Daredevil in She-Hulk and Echo, but Mudrock’s full story will only be fleshed out in the reboot show.

Now, in a new interview with Comic Book, John Wick 4 helmer Chad Stahelski revealed if he would be open to directing Daredevil: Born Again. The filmmaker didn’t seem to be so willing – he explained the drawbacks of getting on board a prominent IP, stressing that if he directs episodes for Daredevil: Born Again, he will need to fulfill the demands of the audiences, studio, and source materials’ nuances, meaning that will not have sufficient creative liberty, and his work could feel repetitive.

“As far as Daredevil goes, it’s the same thing. It’s like, I’ve just been let off the leash literally for nine years, doing whatever I want. And if I want John Wick to go to f-cking space in [John Wick: Chapter 5], he’ll go to f-cking space.

“Look at the filmmaker’s challenge, right? The fans want us to make something that fits in what they’ve kind of seen before. So it’s slightly nostalgic and kind of what they want but subverted enough to be different and fresh. Like, keep saying that. You want the same, but different. How do you keep doing that with 50 Star Wars properties? You’re going to mess up. You’re going to tread. I’m not defending either side, it’s just a tricky line when you’re dealing with existing IP, especially something as massive as a 75-year-old superhero comic book or a 40-year-old Star Wars fan base.”

Stahelski’s comments make perfect sense. While Daredevil: Born Again is much-anticipated, the opportunities for the creative team are somewhat limited, considering that the show has been done before, and audiences expect the same kind of tight adherence to the source material that Netflix’s Daredevil delivered. For any Daredevil show, audiences want a certain kind of gritty procedural elements and superhero action adventure, and any deviation from that genre or format could be polarizing.

Additionally, although the prospect of Matt Mudrock’s reintroduction into the Marvel lore is quite exciting, there are still many questions surrounding the superhero. The showrunners will need to address how much of Daredevil’s story from the Netflix show is canon and which of the original characters will reappear. Additionally, with Daredevil being one of MCU’s most important street-level heroes, Disney and Marvel will surely have a great degree of control over the character. It will not be possible to tell some stories considering their ramifications could disrupt the continuity within the larger MCU. The studio may also have some stipulations for the show’s tone, meaning it’s possible that it wouldn’t be as dark as before. Considering all these restrictions, it would be best for Daredevil: Born Again to hire a creative team that has experience working with studio superhero tentpoles and comic book franchises. Such a team would have an idea about developing projects within established IPs with restricted autonomy and would hence be able to appease both fans and the studio’s expectations.