Daredevil: Born Again boss explains controversial choice for Jessica Jones return

Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane has addressed a sure-to-be controversial choice for the reintroduction of Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter).

Fans have already waited years for the character to reappear, following the cancellation of her Netflix series in 2019 and the subsequent absorption of certain elements into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) shows on Disney+.

Alas, they're going to have to be patient for a little while longer, as Ritter's no-nonsense private investigator and vigilante is notable only by her absence in the early episodes of Daredevil: Born Again season 2.

It's a creative choice that holds the potential to frustrate some viewers, but showrunner Dario Scardapane told Radio Times that it was essential to make sure the return was done right.

"Jessica Jones coming into our world needed to be, for lack of a better word, part of the story," he began. "You have a situation where vigilantes are being hunted... What's the reaction that particular vigilante is going to have to being hunted?"

Scardapane continued: "If you've seen to the end of episode 4, you kind of have an idea of what's happening. We needed to get to a certain part of the story before Jessica coming in would make perfect sense."

Born Again season 2 takes viewers back to New York City under the tyrannical rule of Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), better known by his criminal pseudonym Kingpin.

Although his public image remains carefully curated, Fisk hasn't laid any of his grudges to rest, with an anti-vigilante task force being founded at the end of season 1 to keep the likes of Jessica and Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in check.

Jessica is, in theory, one of the more powerful characters on Marvel's "street-level" hero roster, although you may not have got that impression from her Netflix series, where feats of strength mainly involved breaking locks and doors.

Scardapane, who previously worked on Netflix's two-season The Punisher series, confirmed that Born Again does indeed have a larger budget than its precursors on the rival streaming platform – but will that result in flashier powers for Jessica?

"Everything feels a bit more grounded [in Born Again]," said executive producer Sana Amanat. "And we intentionally want to do that. We don't want to necessarily start having bright magic, shiny powers running around."

That said, Amanat did promise that "we're going to do some cool things" with Jessica Jones, including some "story-specific" exploration of what precisely her superhuman abilities are.

Daredevil: Born Again is the second live-action MCU project of the year, following January's Wonder Man and preceding this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which remains shrouded in total mystery.

Daredevil: Born Again launches on Disney+ UK on Wednesday 25 March 2026. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month.

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