Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ Showrunner Calls Out Marvel’s ‘Born Again’ Reboot As An “Old Disney Scam” Meant To “Reset Contract Terms”
Spencer Baculi
|
Though Daredevil himself may be unable to see, the showrunner of his former Netflix series Steven DeKnight recently took to opening audiences’ eyes to the “scam” reasons behind Disney’s upcoming Daredevil: Born Again reboot.
Daredevil (Charlie Cox) has questions for Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) after being literally dropped into the scene in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 9 “Whose Show Is This?” (2022), Marvel Entertainment via Disney Plus
The conversation which would eventually draw forth DeKnight’s frustrations with the House of Mouse first began on September 17th, courtesy of Twitter user and claimed International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees member @t_NYC.
Retweeting TVLine’s announcement that HBO’s Los Angeles Lakers bioseries Winning Time had been cancelled after two seasons, @t_NYC lamented, “Do I have to post the thread again about how our @IATSE contracts base wages(raises) and conditions(vacation/holiday) pay on arbitrary ‘seasons’, and that cancelling shows before season 3, rebooting shows, and all the nonsense is about undercutting workers?”
Archive Link @t_NYC via Twitter
“I worked on all of the Marvel Netflix shows which all were cancelled in season two or three,” he recalled. “Our contracts only give us full vacation pay(like 36 cents per hour worked or some shit) on season three shows. Four years of work I never got a raise or vacation pay. Like $20,000.”
Archive Link @t_NYC via Twitter
RELATED RUMOR: Law Firm Nelson and Murdock Will Not Return In Disney’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again,’ Nikki James Playing Race-Swapped Kirsten McDuffie
“And not only did they cancel Daredevil once crew got full raise and holiday/vacation pay,” @t_NYC then revealed, “Disney+ reboot is back to season one IATSE contract terms.”
“It’s a f–king scam,” the film grip concluded. “I wonder if @stevendeknight knows that!”
Archive Link @t_NYC via Twitter
Taking notice of his being directly tagged, DeKnight replied to @t_NYC’s question by confirming, “He does.”
“It’s an old Disney scam where they slightly rename a series to reset contract terms back to first season,” the Starz’s Sparacus and Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy showrunner asserted. “Needs to be addressed by all the guilds/unions and crushed!”
Archive Link Steven DeKnight via Twitter
Unsurprisingly, DeKnight’s comments would draw headlines from various entertainment news outlets. In turn, the showrunner would offer clarification that the target of his resentment was neither of Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again lead actors Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, but solely Disney’s corporate greed.
Retweeting The Direct‘s speedy coverage of his anti-Disney criticism, DeKnight explained, “To be clear, I can’t wait to see Charlie Cox and the amazing @vincentdonofrio reprise their iconic rolls. But to claim this is a complete reboot and you don’t have to pay the original creatives is some corporate shenanigans, to say the least.”
Archive Link Steven DeKnight via Twitter
Notably, this is not the first time DeKnight has publicly taken issue with Disney’s apparent shortchanging of their television crews.
Responding to Culture Crave’s July 13th Twitter coverage of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law writer Cody Ziglar’s meager residual payments for his work on the show, DeKnight informed his own followers, “So speaking of Daredevil, as showrunner of S1, part of my deal includes a little sliver of the backend. Never expected to see any on Netflix. But then Marvel/Disney pulled it and it ended up on Disney+. Now I’m part of an audit to try to get the money they owe me and others.”
Archive Link Steven DeKnight via Twitter
“And here’s the thing about auditing to get what’s owed to you,” he further detailed, “YOU have to pay for it (divided up among the backend participants). The last time I had to do this, it cost me alone 17K and took over two years.”
Archive Link Steven DeKnight via Twitter
Concluding his thoughts, DeKnight observed, “Entertainment Corporations will do ANYTHING to keep from paying you what you’re contractually owed.”
Archive Link Steven DeKnight via Twitter
Thanks to the ongoing Hollywood guild strikes, Disney Plus-style take on the Man Without Fear is currently delayed indefinitely.
More About:Television