Daredevil: Born Again is borrowing from Star Wars to revolutionise the MCU

Daredevil: Born Again is a breath of fresh air in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, much in the same way Star Wars’ Andor was when its first season landed several years ago. You see, I feel that both projects share a similar approach to storytelling. While they’re both set in fantastical universes, unlike other projects in their respective franchises, they’re characterised by a sense of groundedness and are arguably more interested in using these fictional universes to examine the issues that plague our own world rather than simply formulating blockbuster fodder.

When you think of Star Wars, you think sci-fi fantasy, and yet Andor is a political thriller or drama first and foremost. It’s clear that showrunner Tony Gilroy had a very human story to tell, and it’s only when that idea was pinned down that he then went about asking the question of, “Well, how might this fit into the Star Wars canon?” Andor doesn’t shoehorn jedi or lightsabers into the story for the sake of it simply because that’s what fans might expect. Gilroy wanted to explore ideas surrounding corruption, justice, and police brutality, and he did so against the familial backdrop of a galaxy far, far away.

Is that not what Dario Scardapane is doing thus far in Daredevil: Born Again? We’re not being force fed the usual CGI brawls and multiverse-spanning tales. It’s funny to describe Daredevil: Born Again as grounded because we’re talking about an iteration of New York overrun by masked vigilantes, but I’d argue that it is totally grounded when compared to the wider MCU.

ICYMI: Andor returns for its second and final season next month.

Scardapane isn’t interested in having Matt Murdock brawl with delinquents for the simple purpose of having the character suit up and look cool. In fact, in the series’ opening few episodes, we’ve hardly seen Matt in Daredevil mode at all - although, yes, that will come as the character continues to find himself drawn back into the world he so desperately attempted to leave behind. But it’s clear that, like Gilroy, Scardapane is more concerned with the very human elements that lie at the centre of Matt’s latest tale.

My point isn’t that Daredevil: Born Again and Andor deal with the exact same themes; I’m more concerned with how they explore their respective themes in a way that feels both tethered and tangible within a larger-than-life fantastical universe, and yet it is interesting that they do just that, examining justice and corruption. These are topics that are pertinent in our own society, so it’s no real surprise that both showrunners are interested in pulling them apart further within the framework of a mass appeal franchise. And there’s something intensifying about doing so in two universes where, by nature of the canon, lawlessness is even more rampant.

Daredevil is, really, a superhero. A street-level one, yes, and perhaps you prefer to call him a vigilante, but he is a powered individual. Yet at the same time, Matt also feels like somewhat of an everyman. He holds down a job. He’s friends with everyday people. There’s a lot of emphasis on Matt’s ordinary life alongside his vigilante escapades, much in the same way that Cassian Andor isn’t a sith lord nor a jedi. He’s an ordinary person who finds himself within extraordinary circumstances, becoming a crucial player within the rebellion.

There’s something so much more tangible about watching the tale of an everyman in franchises that can typically feel so detached. I adore the MCU and sure, it’s made me feel many emotions over the years, but always within the confines of the typical blockbuster experience. Daredevil: Born Again, more so than any other MCU project, dares to do something different centring around a character who is still crucially in touch with the everyday experience of those that reside within these franchise worlds. That, in turn, adds a relatability for the viewer.

With each episode, I’m drawn in by a new moral dilemma examining the politics of the MCU. Hector’s death prompted interesting questions surrounding the cost of standing up to corruption. When the credits rolled, you cannot tell me that you didn’t feel a weight unlike anything you might’ve experienced in the MCU before, because injustices such as this take place in our own world. Do celestial beings appear to decimate entire cities though? No. Those stories are entertaining, but there’s very little to relate to. It’s how I felt about Andor too which hit all the harder for charting the human cost of the rise of the Galactic Empire, more so than the experience of a select few jedi knights.

Matt isn’t the first in the MCU to grapple with the consequences and potential fallout that can come with being a superhero, but I don’t think that idea has ever felt as visceral as it has with Foggy’s death. Matt’s reaction was shattering, as was Karen’s. She couldn’t even turn around out of fear that Bullseye’s body may have been Matt’s. Daredevil: Born Again spends time fleshing out Matt’s personal life, giving the series room to examine the cost of his vigilantism. It’s again, a similar case in Andor. Bix’s torture scene is easily one of Star Wars’ darkest, and it’s only a situation she ends up in because she’s close to Cassian and they want his location.

Daredevil: Born Again and Andor step inside the greater whole, pinning their stories around two figures that viewers can invest in; telling stories with undercurrents that address concerns within our own societies. Neither project totally discards or forgets about the franchise it belongs to, but ‘franchise staples’ aren’t necessarily adhered to either. Each, to me, is gritty, bold, and unique, and exemplifies exactly the kind of storytelling I want to see more of going forward.