Among the numerous changes that Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 made to the original Daredevil series was the casting of Vanessa Fisk. In a 2025 interview, Kingpin actor Vincent D’Onofrio addressed the topic, sharing his views on Ayelet Zurer getting replaced as the crime lord’s wife before ultimately returning to the role she initially played in Netflix’s Daredevil series.
Vincent D’Onofrio on Ayelet Zurer’s recasting before Daredevil: Born Again Season 1
During his November 2025 appearance at the Rhode Island Comic-Con, D’Onofrio revealed that he has always felt that the role of Vanessa Fisk only belonged to Ayelet Zurer.
“They had cast another wonderful actress as my wife, but she wasn’t Ayelet,” the Full Metal Jacket star remarked while referring to the series initially recasting the role of Vanessa Fisk with Sandrine Holt of Black Robe fame in the part. “Ayelet is Vanessa, period. That’s it,” he emphasized.
Notably, Marvel Studios had originally recruited Sandrine Holt for the role of Vanessa in Daredevil’s revival series. However, the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes of 2023 prompted Born Again’s producers to revamp several aspects of the show, including bringing back Zurer. Set photos from 2024 confirmed that Marvel Studios had once again recast Vanessa Fisk, confirming the return of Ayelet Zurer in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1.
In addition to vying for Zurer’s comeback, D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox also fought hard to ensure the return of most of the principal cast of Netflix’s Daredevil series. “It’s funny, when Deborah [Ann Woll] was just talking about being hurt, about not being invited back, Charlie and I were hurting for her. We were like, ‘Why is Deborah not here? Where is Foggy? We need our cast,'” D’Onofrio noted.
Daredevil: Born Again premiered on Disney+ with the majority of the cast from the Netflix show reprising their roles, including Jon Bernthal as the Punisher. The series garnered rave reviews from fans and critics alike, prompting Marvel to renew Born Again for two more seasons. While the exact release date of Season 3 remains under wraps at the moment, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on March 24, 2026.
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on SuperHeroHype.
