Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ Showrunner Clarifies Criticism Of ‘Born Again’ Was Directed At Disney’s Business Decisions: “I Fully Support The New Show And Hope It Does Very, Very Well”
Spencer Baculi
|
After setting the internet slightly aflame with his recent call-out of Disney’s plans for the Man Without Fear, former Netflix’s Daredevil showrunner Steven DeKnight has clarified that his frustrations towards the upcoming Born Again were not aimed at the reboot itself, but rather the corporate greed behind the company’s decision to create a brand new series rather than continue the original.
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
DeKnight would first offer his criticism of the House of Mouse’s underhanded accounting tactics in response to a lengthy thread from Twitter user and claimed International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees member @t_NYC in which he took issue with HBO’s decision to abruptly cancel the popular Los Angeles Lakers bioseries, Winning Time.
Retweeting TVLine.com’s announcement of the series’ axing on September 17th, a frustrated @t_NYC asserted, “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 s–t) 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
“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,” he would conclude, before going on to tag DeKnight directly and inquire, “I wonder if @stevendeknight knows that!”
Archive Link @t_NYC via Twitter
Responding to his being tagged a short time later, DeKnight confirmed to the IATSE member, “He does.”
“It’s an old Disney scam where they slightly rename a series to reset contract terms back to first season,” he ultimately detailed. “Needs to be addressed by all the guilds/unions and crushed!”
Archive Link Steven DeKnight via Twitter
Shortly thereafter, DeKnight’s comments would receive attention from numerous entertainment news outlets, two of which would receive clarifications from the showrunner in resposne to their respective coverage.
The first was The Direct, who summarized in a tweet, “#Daredevil Season 1 showrunner Steven DeKnight has criticized Disney+’s decision to reboot instead of making a Season 4 of the Netflix series: ‘It’s an old Disney scam where they slightly rename a series to reset contract terms…'”.
In turn, DeKnight would retweet their article and inform the public, “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
However, despite similarly summarizing, “#Daredevil Season 1 showrunner Steven DeKnight has criticized Disney+’s decision to reboot instead of making a Season 4 of the Netflix series: ‘It’s an old Disney scam where they slightly rename a series to reset contract terms,'” Twitter entertainment news account @RealComicNerd receive a more firm push back from the showrunner.
“Yeah, not at all what I actually said,” wrote DeKnight. “This was talking about the tactic of slightly changing a show’s name to avoid paying the original creatives or triggering a raise for the crew. I fully support the new show and hope it does very, very well.”
Archive Link Steven DeKnight via Twitter
Further, asked by a fan what he thought of Horn Head’s cameo on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, DeKnight declared, “Loved the lighter take.”
“Just like in the comics, there are many different interpretations of hte character,” he added. “And Charlie Cox was absolutely delightful, as always!”
Archive Link Steven DeKnight via Twitter
NEXT: ‘Daredevil’ Showrunner Steven DeKnight Claims Disney And Netflix Owe Him Unpaid Residual Checks
More About:Television