'Daredevil: Born Again' showrunner comments on series' parallels with ICE actions

Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane has commented on similarities between the series’ storyline and real-world events, describing the overlap as unexpected during production.

The Marvel series, now streaming on Disney+, is set in a version of New York under Mayor Wilson Fisk, played by Vincent D’Onofrio.

The story introduces an Anti-Vigilante Task Force created to suppress vigilante activity. In early episodes, the group detains individuals from the streets and operates beyond standard legal boundaries.

Speaking ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Scardapane said he was surprised to see elements of the fictional narrative reflect real-world developments involving ICE.

“The thing that’s crazy about that is that, you know, those costumes were designed 10 years ago in the comics, the costumes that we did last season, the raids that we wrote a year and a half ago,” he said. “And then it’s like, you go from editing and look at the news, and the imagery was almost exact. We couldn’t have planned it. So, it was chilling.”

Scardapane added that the storyline was influenced by historical patterns of governance. “And I think it’s a testimony how — we wrote, what I would say, is the historical kind of rise of an autocrat,” he said. “The playbook is always the same, you know? Form a militia, target a marginalised community, take over the means of media, shake down the rich to fund your plots.”

Executive producer Sana Amanat also addressed the similarities, saying she told Scardapane to “please stop writing,” referencing the parallels between fiction and current events.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 continues to stream on Disney+.