Why Marvel's Daredevil: Born Again Was Canceled At Disney Plus
After making a triumphant return to the small screen in "Daredevil: Born Again," Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock has been officially benched once again. Disney and Marvel Studios have announced that "Born Again" will end with Season 3, bringing the Man with No Fear's streaming adventures to a close almost eight years after Netflix canceled the original Cox-led "Daredevil" series. So, what happened? After all, when Cox's return as Murdock was first announced, there was widespread celebration among fans who had longed for this iteration of the character to be given a second chance. Well, it seems much of that enthusiasm dissipated as "Born Again" went on.
According to Deadline, citing figures from Luminate data, "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 1 garnered impressive ratings, scoring the best Disney+ series premiere of 2025. 7.5 million viewers streamed the show worldwide in its first five days on the platform. But when the politically-shaky "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2 arrived in March 2026, United States viewership dropped by around 50%.
Production on Season 3 of the series has reportedly wrapped, which means the third season is in no danger of being scrapped altogether and is set to debut on Disney+ in 2027. But, again, it will be the last go round for Cox's Daredevil. That said, it's not clear what will happen beyond 2027, especially since Marvel Studios is currently trying to rebuild following a tough period for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It's been a rough ride for Daredevil: Born Again
The news of "Daredevil: Born Again" being canceled followed Marvel dismissing showrunner Dario Scardapane at the end of his contract. Evidently, Scardapane is not overseeing post-production on Season 3 as, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it nears completion. This is, however, just the latest in a series of troubling developments for "Born Again."
The show faced a difficult road from the beginning. After being given the green light in 2022, "Born Again" was immediately impacted by the 2023 film and TV strikes. Marvel then took the opportunity to re-tool the show, dismissing head writers Matt Corman and Chris Ord and bringing in Scardapane to give the series a more mature feel, closer to that of the Netflix "Daredevil" series. Unfortunately, that tonal switch up didn't really lend itself to a clear marketing strategy for "Born Again," which was confusing from the beginning thanks to the fact it picked up where the Netflix show left off while simultaneously soft rebooting the series as a whole. Regardless, "Born Again" debuted to excellent viewership figures, only for those numbers to dwindle in Season 2.
But the ratings are almost certainly just one part of the reason "Born Again" has been axed. The show is running at a time when audiences have long since grown tired of Marvel Studios' exhaustive array of streaming series. Marvel halted three of its shows in 2025 to figure out a new path forward. Then, in 2026, it renewed "Wonder Man" only to then cancel the series a few months later. As of now, "Born Again" and "VisionQuest" are the only two live-action Disney+ MCU shows officially left on the docket. It seems the former has also become a victim of Marvel's effort to scale back its TV output.
Is this really the end for Daredevil: Born Again?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney and Marvel Studios have "three to five live-action shows in development," with sources telling the outlet that a spy thriller known as "Zodiac" has just been greenlit. No further information is known about these series, and Marvel is yet to confirm they exist. But it seems there could be more Disney+ MCU series coming at some point, likely after 2027's "Avengers: Secret Wars." Given the overall trajectory of the MCU, we might even see "Born Again" return.
Currently, Marvel Studios is gearing up to release "Avengers: Doomsday" on December 18, 2026. The movie will see the X-Men make their official MCU debut and herald the arrival of a new age for the franchise. At least, that's the plan. The MCU has been struggling of late, and studio head Kevin Feige is trying to right the ship. The scaling back of Disney+ streaming series is part of that effort. Not only will it allow Marvel Studios to focus on rebuilding its cinematic dominance, it will allow the company to simplify the franchise's overarching narrative (which, prior to the recent TV series cancellations, had become unwieldy).
If Feige and co. are successful, perhaps Charlie Cox could return for another season of his solo series. With "Born Again" Season 3 set to debut after "Doomsday" and before "Secret Wars," it's a bit of an awkward entry in the saga, and Marvel seemingly doesn't want to have to deal with it anymore. That said, we're yet to see how audiences react to the third season. What's more, Daredevil hasn't been removed from the MCU more generally, so he could potentially show up elsewhere and might even return in his own series post-"Secret Wars."