The appeal of a comic book series might be its thrillingly violent action or impossible feats of derring-do. But “Daredevil: Born Again” captivates because of its immersive realism and its deeply human storyline about Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a visually impaired lawyer with heightened abilities who fights for justice in more ways than one. As the “Born Again” in the title implies, this show is a new phase of Murdock’s story, one where he hopes that he’s left his iconic red suit behind him; likewise, his nemesis Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) has allegedly put his criminal behavior behind him as the elected mayor of New York.
Nothing is that simple, of course. Both Murdock’s and Fisk’s façades wear thin, and the two are fated to collide.
The challenge for the show’s creative team, however, was developing a visceral signature style that could stand on its own. The mandate was for the same scope, scale, and stakes of a “Daredevil” story, if not even bigger. But as production designer Michael Shaw told IndieWire, “We felt like we had an obligation to elevate it to be highly grounded in New York and have it feel very real.”
A grounded New York realism led the filmmakers to references like “The French Connection and “Taxi Driver,” of course, but also photographer Saul Leiter. They wanted to move away from the beautiful, color-saturated neo-noir sensibilities of the original “Daredevil” series and towards something that reflected the characters’ struggles to stay away from super physical heroics and sonic bullet-time battles. Cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera shot the seven out of the nine episodes, including the pilot, and cinematographer Pedro Gómez Millán shot episodes 4 and 5; Spera told IndieWire that “Daredevil: Born Again” wanted to move towards “A really grounded sort of more naturalistic approach that felt textured, grittier.”
In the videos below, watch how production designer Michael Shaw and cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera conceptualized Daredevil’s new look for the character to be “Born Again.”
The Production Design of “Daredevil: Born Again”
Michael Shaw’s biggest challenge was moving the textured, gritty world of Daredevil out of Hell’s Kitchen, a task that started with stylizing his apartment and workplace. “Matt’s apartment and his office are in Brooklyn, and one way we wanted to convey that was that his apartment and his office would have views of Manhattan from across the river,” he told IndieWire. Adding warmth to his home was also key. The designer incorporated brick, beams, and cement flooring to invite the audience in, while making it feel “airy.” Another aspect was curating a space that reflected a character who is completely blind.
With Matt’s office, the production designer created a tactile environment – a place the character could feel around and touch as he walked if he so desired. Nuance was injected into the space through layers of pebbled glass and texture. “There are these partitions and some have partially obscured glass so that when you see a figure walk behind it’s almost as if you had limited visibility. It’s if somehow you couldn’t see properly, you might see shadows. I just wanted that kind of layering to happen,” said Shaw.
To address Fisk as mayor, meanwhile, the production designer found a “balance between what will come and how we see him early.” “He’s in a world that is unfamiliar to him and slightly uncomfortable, and intimidating. And he is processing his place in the history of New York while he’s in this. So City Hall has to feel like there have been many people before him.” That uncomfortableness extended to Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence. “We relied heavily on influences from the actual Gracie Mansion, which in some ways feels a little bit dated and stodgy. We scaled down the ceiling, and we made the furniture feel slightly smaller for him,” Shaw said.
In the video above, watch how Michael Shaw created the nuanced complexities behind the character-driven series.
The Cinematography of “Daredevil: Born Again”
For cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera, the show’s new look meant developing a style in a widescreen window, electing to pair the ALEXA 35 with Panavision G-Series lenses. “I always saw this show as anamorphic,” Spera told IndieWire. “The city photographs really well in a widescreen format, and I think relationships within the frame too.”
The camera language, in part, was developed to support the arcs of the character, exposing their duality: Matt’s reluctance to be Daredevil again and Fisk’s hiding his villainous nature. “Matt was more human and handheld. We get very close with wide-angle lenses, and we’re just really within his experience,” she said. The choice adds emotional weight, allowing viewers to empathize with the character’s feelings. Wide shots, like inside the courtroom or at his apartment, framed Matt further away, more stoic and alone – a man not lost but in thought. Lighting took on a warmer color temperature, connecting his human side, and the use of flares grounded his actions.
Fisk was presented more ominously, larger than life – the camera’s eye line hinting at the power he holds. “With Fisk, the institutionality of his world was represented from a very controlled camera, very restrained,” Spera noted. Symmetrical compositions were framed with steadicam or on a dolly while lighting leaned more monochromatic, leading up to his criminal behavior. “As it sort of starts to unravel, his lighting changes. In the beginning, it’s more about white hard sources,” Spera continued. “Later, he’s very top lit. It’s like a classic “Godfather” reference and his demons manifesting really on the surface, and instead of just playing the role as the mayor, he’s actually gone back to his role as Kingpin.”
In illustrating Matt’s sensory abilities as Daredevil, a combination of lensing, aspect ratio changes, and filtration created the effect. For smaller, faster sensory moments, Spera paired a Panasonic G 40mm with a diopter shooting wide open at T2.6 and over-cranked to 36 or 48fps with a 180° shutter. A flare source was added as the camera moves around to Daredevil’s head and ears. For the larger “sensory grande” moments, a rig with multiple cameras was custom-made by key grip Matt Staples to create a virtual 270° panoramic view that would be stitched together with visual effects. “This effect was so large and consuming it was only used twice in Season 1. Once in Episode 1, inside Josie’s bar moments before the oner. And then in Episode 8 during the ball, where Matt senses Bullseye on the balcony,” Spera said.
Watch the video above and immerse yourself in the visual subtitles of “Daredevil: Born Again” now streaming on Disney+.
