Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Episode 7’s Big Death Wasn’t the Original Plan (& Was Changed With CGI)

Contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

Those who have been following Daredevil: Born Again from the beginning know that Season 1 was significantly retooled. Marvel took advantage of the pause in production (caused by the dual Hollywood strikes in 2023) to revamp the series. In contrast, development of Season 2 was much smoother. There was no need for a massive overhaul behind the scenes, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any changes. When putting together the seventh episode of Season 2, “The Hateful Darkness,” showrunner Dario Scardapane came to the realization that a key character’s fate had to be changed. And with that, Michael Gandolfini’s Daniel Blake was killed off.

Speaking with Variety, Buck Cashman actor Arty Froushan shared that originally, Daniel survived his encounter with Buck at the end of the episode. “Buck had to face up to Fisk, but he doesn’t admit it,” he said. “He lies to Fisk’s face, basically, and says, ‘I killed him,’ but obviously he doesn’t.” Scardapane revealed that had Daniel lived, he would have stayed in politics, with the “new interim mayor” rejecting his resignation.

Scardapane continued by saying the initial plan was “kind of meh and a non-story,” inspiring him to change things. He recalled telling Gandolfini the news. “I was like, ‘Dude, I’ve got the worst news,’ and he’s like, ‘I know exactly what you’re gonna say, and it’s the right choice,’” he said. “He felt in that moment that there’s no way he’s getting out of that apartment. It was funny because there were scenes shot of him after that moment, and it really feels like we’re telling the wrong story here. I think it’s a testament to how much we all love him, that we knew this character probably should not survive but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it.” The Born Again visual effects team added a gunshot to the scene after Scardapane changed his mind.

Daredevil: Born Again Killing Daniel Blake Was the Right Call

Making the decision to kill Daniel could not have been an easy one for Scardapane and Co. Outside of the fact that the creative team enjoyed working with Gandolfini, Daniel had been established as a key character on Daredevil: Born Again. An argument could have been made that Marvel was essentially setting Daniel up to be the next Kingpin, as he was the closest thing Wilson Fisk had to an heir. While that might have been in the cards at one point, Scardapane felt it was better for Daniel’s story to definitively end here, and it seems like everyone involved with the show agrees that was the right call.

It would have been great to see more of Gandolfini as Daniel (in the Season 2 finale and potentially in Season 3 down the line), but his final moments in “The Hateful Darkness” make more sense now. Though Buck and Daniel grew closer this season, they weren’t exactly best of friends. Buck’s main goals were to corrupt Daniel and hold a certain amount of leverage over him if he ever stepped out of line. It arguably would have been out of character if Buck let Daniel live after double-crossing the Fisk administration. Buck was certainly disappointed that he had to kill Daniel, but he still knows he has a job to do.

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Daniel’s death also has stronger connections thematically to the overarching narrative of the show. Earlier in Season 2, Daredevil: Born Again revealed Wilson Fisk’s greatest weakness: he lacks someone who can carry his legacy. Daniel seemed like the most natural candidate to follow in Kingpin’s footsteps, but in “The Hateful Darkness,” he proved he isn’t capable of committing the kinds of heinous acts Kingpin is known for. The goodness in Daniel’s heart prevented him from leading BB Urich (who he deeply cares about) to her death. Instead, he let her escape, sacrificing himself in her place. This act was essentially Daniel’s way of rejecting Fisk’s path; his dynamic with BB always made for a fascinating parallel with the Netflix show, as Kingpin murdered BB’s uncle Ben Urich.

What made Daniel such an interesting character is that he was a wild card who could have gone in either direction. His loyalty to Fisk and enthusiasm for working alongside the mayor were signs that he could have become the next Kingpin, but his connection to BB kept him grounded in his own humanity. At the end of the day, he chose a side, and there wasn’t really anywhere else for his personal story to go. Rather than bring him back and run the risk of giving Gandolfini underwhelming material to work with, Daniel’s arc was capped off in a compelling way.

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