Matt Murdock Actor Charlie Cox Explains How Foggy's Death In Daredevil: Born Again Was A "Gift"

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Charlie Cox opens up about Foggy Nelson's death in Daredevil: Born Again season 1, episode 1, struck a chord with long-time fans who have followed Matt Murdock since Netflix's Daredevil series. With the return of Bullseye, the Daredevil villain ended up killing Foggy within the show's first couple of minutes.

During an interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Cox was asked about how his approach to playing Daredevil was different in Born Again as compared to when he first started portraying the Marvel character in three seasons of the Netflix show. One of the things that was crucial to how Matt's arc was different in Daredevil: Born Again season 1 was Foggy's death, as Cox explains why that tragedy also became a "gift" for the MCU series:

It's the same character, it's the same human, but we are so radically changed by our circumstances and by our experiences. And you put that into the world of the superhero genre, if such a thing exists, everything is exaggerated a little bit. The awful thing that happens in Born Again, that was the gift for me as the actor, was the death of Foggy. I mean, tragic in of the show loses an element that, I think, was the heartbeat of Daredevil. But if you're going to come back, and you're going to make a new show, [after] having done three seasons [where] you already have a lot of material, you do need to shake things up a bit. You need to come back with a bang, and with our show in particular, you need to make sure the audience feels unsafe, that nothing is sacred, anything can happen at any time. Otherwise, the stakes don't really mean anything.

But in of playing Matt Murdock, I think at the end of this journey, whenever it does come to an end, there will be before Foggy's death and after Foggy's death. The death of Foggy is...I don't know, I'm not as well-versed in the Marvel universe as people might think, but I don't know that there's many characters that have such an iconic best friend [as Foggy.]

What Charlie Cox's Foggy Comments Mean For Daredevil: Born Again

As heartbreaking as it was to see Foggy die, Cox's comments are extremely valid, since Foggy's death was crucial to the larger story of Daredevil: Born Again. While Daredevil: Born Again doesn't officially serve as Daredevil season 4, the MCU drama is a continuation, and also serves as a jumping-on point for new viewers who didn't follow the original series. By the time Born Again began, it had been a decade since Daredevil's story began. This included many characters in his life, like Foggy, who were introduced in April 2015 when Netflix's Daredevil TV show premiered.

By having Foggy be the one to die, his death has an impact on Matt, Karen Page, and the audience, as opposed to if someone who was just introduced in Daredevil: Born Again had been killed by Bullseye. It wouldn't have the same effect, and it wouldn't have worked to establish why Matt retired from being Daredevil. That is why Daredevil: Born Again season 1 had to start with a significant event like Foggy's death, driving Matt to a dark place, which is why his journey in the season was as strong as it was.

Our Take On Charlie Cox's Foggy Comments

MCU's Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson sitting together as lawyers in the live-action Daredevil series.

While it will always hurt that Foggy isn't in Matt's life anymore, it's powerful to hear how much it meant to Cox and why it was important that they approached this story. Luckily enough, even though it remains to be seen how they are doing it, Foggy will return in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, which could be anything from him appearing via flashbacks, or somehow revealing his death was faked. Hopefully, more details about Elden Henson's return in Daredevil: Born Again season 2 will be clarified once filming is completed.