Marvel’s New Release Shows Daredevil How to Earn Its R-Rating

Daredevil: Born Again season 2 was one of Marvel’s biggest releases of 2026, and while it is rated TV-MA, it isn’t mature. The series is filled with swearing and graphic violence, something that increases as the season goes on. While there is a lot to love about Born Again, it lacks the emotional and thematic depth of some other TV-MA shows with similar levels of production value. However, another MCU project from 2026 surprisingly shows how Born Again could have improved.

Born Again season 2 is a major step up from many MCU projects, with its action scenes, cinematography, and social commentary being far more interesting than most of the franchise’s movies and TV shows. However, a spinoff project manages to truly earn its R-rating when compared to Born Again‘s relatively surface-level character arcs.

Daredevil Needs To Explore Matt’s Psyche As Much As One Last Kill Explores Frank’s

The week following the Born Again season 2 finale, the MCU released another project on Disney+: The Punisher: One Last Kill. The MCU Special Presentation brings Jon Berenthal’s Frank Castle back after his absence from Born Again season 2 and ahead of his return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The special follows the Punisher in the aftermath of his slaying of the Gnucci crime family. The one surviving Gnucci, Ma Gnucci, puts out a hit on Frank, causing every criminal in Frank’s violent city block to come after him.

While the premise of One Last Kill is relatively simple, its character study of Frank Castle is what makes it thematically rich. Much of the special is dedicated to studying Frank’s mental state, with him being haunted by the ghosts of figures from his past. Frank acts as an unreliable narrator in the special, with the story’s first half being entirely focused on his confusion, guilt, and trauma. Once Frank’s mental state is laid as the foundation of the story, the second half erupts into a blaze of violence, with Frank going on a non-stop killing spree in order to save his own life. By the end, however, he is saving other lives, something that allows him to reach a synthesis of his regrets about his past and his unstoppable hunger for violence.

While the story of One Last Kill may not be a perfect adaptation of the Punisher’s comics, it is a fantastic character study of the Frank Castle that the MCU has created. The moral complexities and dark places that the story is willing to go are what make One Last Kill mature, not its violence.

Unfortunately, Daredevil: Born Again doesn’t go as deep into Matt’s psyche as One Last Kill did Frank’s. Matt’s Catholic guilt, no kill rule, and continued mourning of Foggy’s death would allow for an exploration as complex as the exploration of Frank’s character, yet Born Again doesn’t do this. While the show has its moments, Matt is surprisingly flat in season 2. What makes this sadder is that Born Again had eight episodes to explore Matt, while One Last Kill did it in only one special.

So, if Born Again season 3 wants to be more mature, it needs to spend more time with Matt. While it may be risky, as scenes of Matt discussing his religiosity may not be as exciting as another hallway fight, it will absolutely be worth it from a narrative perspective.

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Born Again Needs To Find The Balance That Netflix’s Daredevil Had

Born Again season 2 was undoubtedly an improvement on season 1, but it still doesn’t compare to Netflix’s seasons when it comes to character moments. The original Daredevil series was much slower, and it spent much more time with Matt. The series was constantly exploring Matt’s religion and showing him debating the morals of his actions, an aspect that is sadly missing from Born Again.

This maturity extended beyond Matt, however. Characters like Karen and Bullseye had entire episodes dedicated to exploring their backstories and trauma, and this is completely missing from Born Again. While this may be a limitation of Born Again‘s eight-episode seasons compared to Daredevil‘s thirteen, more time needs to be spent developing characters in season 3.

Luckily, season 2 did show that this was still possible in Born Again‘s eight-episode seasons. Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 5 is mostly a flashback episode, heavily centered on Foggy and Matt debating the morals of defending one of their clients. This is much closer to the thematic richness of the original Daredevil show, and Born Aagin needs to lean into this in the upcoming batch of episodes.

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