Features, Superhero, TV

‘Daredevil: Born Again’: Steven DeKnight Calls Reboot an Old Disney Scam!!

Steven DeKnight, the filmmaker who is widely known for his work on the Starz series Spartacus, also served as the showrunner for the first season of Marvel‘s Daredevil, which aired on Netflix for three seasons in total and starred Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio. Disney announced they would be bringing back the character of Daredevil in a new series called Daredevil: Born Again, and now, DeKnight has criticized the decision to relaunch the series.

DeKnight was tagged in a tweet that highlighted the fact the crew members of Born Again were receiving Season One terms on their contracts through IATSE. DeKnight responded by stating that he was aware of it, adding that it was “an old Disney scam” whereby a show could be renamed in order to reset contract terms. Key examples of this could include Scrubs which became Scrubs: Med School, Liv and Maddie which added Cali Style to its fourth season, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, which became The Suite Life on Deck.

DeKnight then later expressed frustration that his comments were taken out of context, explaining he had no issue with the show continuing, but rather the contract terms of a “reboot” meant branding it as a new show, which meant the company could avoid paying residuals to the original creatives, himself included. A reboot indicates a show is starting over, whereas a continuation would retain the same core cast and follow the story. Interestingly, Erik Oleson, who served as showrunner on Season 3 of Netflix‘s Daredevil, had also previously pointed out that the Daredevil: Born Again reboot was basically Season 4 of the Netflix series.

DeKnight also later added his own context to his remarks, speaking from his own experience of working in the industry and clarifying that Disney‘s own policy of altering the titles of shows while retaining the main cast is a deceptive way of keeping costs down, as cast and crew are entitled to significant pay bumps as a show progresses. By claiming it is a “new series” even when the continuity remains the same, the company can then avoid paying more money but instead claim fresh contract terms on a lower compensatory rate.

“You have to understand Disney’s history of slightly changing a show’s title, retaining the main cast, but calling it a new show or a reboot to avoid bumping the crew’s pay. Hope that helps clarify what I was referring to.”

The fight for equality in contract terms, as well as residual payments, is a key component in the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. DeKnight‘s comments being misconstrued risk undermining that message. Currently, Daredevil: Born Again‘s production has been suspended amid the ongoing strikes. Its release date is currently pending. Check out DeKnight‘s full tweets below:

via Collider

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