‘Daredevil’s Most Devastating Story Was Almost Very Different

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a unique twist on all of its characters, especially the “street-level” vigilantes like Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and his allies. On the screen, these characters don’t hit all the melodramatic highs and lows that they have in Marvel Comics over the decades, but they can still be incredibly heartbreaking. That’s especially true for Matt Murdock’s on-again, off-again love interest Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), who is different from her comic counterpart but no less tragic. In a recent interview on Collider‘s Ladies Night podcast, Woll recounted one of her own suggestions that made Karen’s story much more devastating in the MCU.

Woll has been playing Karen Page since 2015, back when Daredevil was a co-production between Marvel Studios and Netflix. She has spoken a lot over the years about her connection with the character, comparing Karen to her long-running role as Jessica Hamby on True Blood. It’s clear Woll has an immersive approach to her characters, but she told Collider‘s Perri Nemiroff that she never goes out of her way to mess with a good script. “Generally, I’m not looking to change something unless I know that this is going to be a really exciting new addition, she said. “I do a lot of homework before I even come forward with something.” She did recall one suggestion she made in Daredevil Season 3 that had a massive impact on Karen’s arc, however.

Woll Helped Find the Guilt that Defines Karen Page

Image via Marvel Studios and Netflix

According to Woll, the writers and producers did not make up their minds about Karen Page’s MCU backstory until it was actually revealed in Season 3. This was further complicated by the changing showrunners every season. Finally, we learn that at 19 years old, Karen was responsible for the death of her brother Kevin (Jack DiFalco). Her family was fractured by the death of her mother, and she was using drugs and alcohol to cope while becoming dangerously enmeshed with an volatile boyfriend, Todd Neiman (Will Stout). Things finally came to a boiling point one night when Kevin tried to burn down Todd’s home to drive them apart. Todd attacked Kevin, and he and Karen fled the scene in her car. Because she was intoxicated, she crashed and Kevin was killed.

According to Woll, the original script for this episode had Todd chasing Karen and Kevin as they fled from the fire. That would have meant he shared some responsibility for the crash, and Woll felt that was not tragic enough for Karen. In her mind, Karen was defined by guilt, and the source of that guilt had been built up for several seasons now. “I was like, ‘I just think there’s too much room for her to say it’s not her fault in that,'” Woll recalled. “I was like, ‘Is it okay if he doesn’t follow us and I crash the car because I’m drunk and high and angry? There’s no one else to point the blame to.’ Like, ‘Can we make this truly devastating?'”

To Woll, this was about paying off a longstanding mystery within the show and retroactively justifying Karen’s grim outlook on life. She did not want her character’s virtue to be protected in this flashback. “I wanted it to really be something that she could never forgive herself for,” she said. “…and that’s what we put on camera.”

It was an elegant way to pack in many elements of Karen’s comic book backstory without making it gratuitous or sensational on TV. The story that the writer’s cooked up had all the right pieces in place, but Woll’s tweak was perfect to keep her character centered in the story. It allowed Karen to keep more agency, and it gave her something to reckon with continually, which is essential for a serialized comic book character.

Karen’s Anguish Still Impacts ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

Image via Marvel Studios and Netflix

Woll was wise to focus on getting Karen’s backstory right, as she is still playing the character to this day. Karen was largely absent in the first season of the revival series, Daredevil: Born Again, but it was an intentional, palpable absence. Earlier this year in Season 2, Karen played a very active role in the story, and it looks like she will continue to do so in Season 3 next year. Born Again may be coming to an end, but there’s no telling where else Daredevil and his allies might pop up in the MCU. Woll’s attention to detail is a perfect example of how important the small things can be in a franchise of this scale.

Matt Murdock has already shown himself in other MCU titles, including movies. That’s significant since Marvel has trimmed down its plans for TV spinoffs to focus more on movies. At this point, Daredevil may be among the most likely MCU TV heroes to make the jump to the big screen, and if so Karen would be along for the ride. However, at the time of this writing, Woll has not been officially announced for the cast of any upcoming MCU productions besides Born Again Season 3. That doesn’t tell us much, since Marvel is so secretive about its plans, but it’s all we have to go on for now. Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again are both streaming now on Disney+. The third and final season of Born Again is expected to premiere there in March of 2027.

Release Date

2025 – 2027-00-00

Network

Disney+

Showrunner

Dario Scardapane

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