Marvel's New Hit Series Is Crushing on Streaming, That Bodes Well for Daredevil: Born Again

Agatha All Along has been a hit and that's great for Daredevil.

By Aaron Perine

Marvel Studios' latest TV series is racking up viewers on Disney+ and that's a great thing for Daredevil fans. The streamer welcomed Agatha All Along to the platform a few weeks ago and the results are very positive so far. Kathryn Hahn's show is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The WandaVision spinoff also boasted 9.8 million viewers the first week on Disney+. A win for Marvel Studios and fans who had been waiting to see Agatha Harkness return after a scene stealing run in that first MCU TV show. But, a small detail in a recent piece from The Hollywood Reporter is what should catch Daredevil fans' eyes. Their piece says that Agatha All Along is the most budget-friendly Marvel Studios show to date. Could that detail be a big factor in some of the projects moving forward? It seems like things may be heading that direction.  

Daredevil: Born Again is a pseudo continuation of the Netflix Daredevil series. Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio and more are all back in the fold after that layover. The show was already a highly-anticipated Marvel title before the recent "retooling" over at Marvel Studios. But, now that changes have been made to make the show hem closer to the Netflix material, the hype is even higher. The budget for Born Again is much more likely to fall near Echo or Agatha All Along than Secret Invasion. (Mostly because titles like the Nick Fury show, Loki, and The Falcon and The Winter soldier had to deal with health shutdowns and other obstacles related to 2020's health crisis.) So, the pathway is there to serve fans a popular character with other familiar faces. As an added bonus, a street-level hero like Daredevil might not warrant the kinds of VFX lifts that Loki or Secret Invasion carried. I hear rendering Hulks on-screen can be very costly, and there shouldn't be too much of that here.

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(Photo:

Matt Murdock has been set up for success.

- Marvel)

Street-level hero fans should rejoice in this development. Even though the franchise's direction already seemed to be leaning their way regardless. (A quick look at 2025's slate has Ironheart, the Red Hulk in Captain America 4, and The Fantastic Four as 'effects heavy titles.') Everything else is basically animated or people fighting with guns and fists. Much better on the budget. Even the oft-discussed Blade movie in development hasn't been the massive money investment that some fans have decried online. (For what it's worth, enjoying the movies and shows for what they are might be a better strategy there.) The downsizing budgets have come with some coincidentally well-recieved projects. That's likely to continue as Marvel Studios heads into 2025's slate. 

Daredevil: Born Again Is Going To Feel Like An Event

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Daredevil's new look is a winner.

- Marvel Entertainment)

Without any budget talk, Daredevil: Born Again is one of the most anticipated Marvel titles of the last couple years. A good number of fans believe they would never see Charlie Cox or Vincent D'onofrio play those iconic characters again in that space. But, Marvel Studios heard all the cries from social media to "Save Daredevil" and here we are. This Summer's recent D23 Expo saw so many fans get their first taste of the gritty action that Matt Murdock will be a part of when Daredevil: Born Again gets rolling in 2025. Viewer discretion is advised, as the new show will take full advantage of the mature rating settings on Disney Plus. For a long time, fans that's a great thing but it might catch some viewers off guard.

Back when X-Men '97 was just wrapping up, ComicBook talked to Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation Brad Winderbaum. The producer would tell us about their decision to bring back Marvel Television. The company is hoping that future projects will become more accessible to audiences who might be intimidated by the long history of some Marvel characters.

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"We want to make sure that Marvel stays an open door for people to come in and explore," Winderbaum began. "On the heels of Endgame, I think there was, maybe, a little bit of an obligation to watch absolutely everything in order to watch anything. As you know, as a comics fan, they're designed to just pop in, find something that you like, and use that to enter you into the universe, and then you can explore and weave around based on your own preferences. So part of the rebranding of Marvel Studios, Marvel Television, Marvel Animation, even Marvel Spotlight is to, I think, try to tell the audience, 'You can jump in anywhere. They're interconnected but they're not. You don't have to watch A to enjoy B. You can follow your bliss. You can follow your own preferences and find the thing you want within the tapestry of Marvel.'"

What Marvel project are you the most excited about in 2025? Check out all the pop culture discussion at @ComicBook!

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