Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Nearly Delivered a Major MCU Crossover

Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 nearly pulled off a stealth MCU crossover, with writer Jesse Wigutow revealing a planned bottle episode centered entirely on Echo in a recent IGN interview.

Here is a fun what-if from the Marvel TV trenches: Daredevil: Born Again almost slipped a bottle episode into Season 1 that paired up two fan-favorite heavy hitters from the street-level corner of the MCU. It did not happen, but the idea is just wild enough to talk about.

The bottle episode that almost was

Writer Jesse Wigutow says Marvel briefly toyed with a self-contained episode centered on the Punisher crossing into Matt Murdock's world and spending one long, complicated night with Echo. Not a romantic thing — more like two human wrecking balls stuck in the same narrative room.

If you need a refresher, a 'bottle episode' is the TV budget-saver: minimal locations, minimal cast, maximum character work. According to Wigutow, this would have been exactly that, built around Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle as he steps into Daredevil's orbit and bounces off Echo for an evening.

Wigutow says he was brought in two or three years ago when Marvel was actively exploring this idea. Then development did what development does.

"Who knows, maybe it comes back again."

So why did it disappear?

The short version: the plan fell away as the show kept evolving. Wigutow describes the path to the final version as a bit crooked — which, if you have followed Born Again's fits and starts, tracks. The takeaway is that the Punisher/Echo one-off did not make the Season 1 cut, but it is not impossible the concept could be revived later if the timing lines up.

Where Season 2 is heading

Marvel is keeping details tight, but Season 2 will pick up right where Season 1 left off. There is also chatter that Mike Colter's Luke Cage and Finn Jones' Danny Rand might show up, which would point toward a mini-Defenders reunion if it actually happens. File that under rumor for now.

What is confirmed: the returning and new faces for Season 2. Highlights below.

• Charlie Cox
• Vincent D'Onofrio
• Krysten Ritter
• Margarita Levieva as Heather Glenn
• Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page
• Wilson Bethel as Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter/Bullseye
• Nikki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie
• Genneya Walton as BB Urich
• Clark Johnson as Cherry
• Michael Gandolfini as Daniel Blake
• Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk
• Matthew Lillard
• ...and more to be revealed

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is currently expected to land on Disney+ in March 2026.