Marvel’s Biggest Miss: Tom Hiddleston as Daredevil Director
Tom Hiddleston nearly crashed Daredevil: Born Again — just not the way you’d expect. Charlie Cox says a surprising plan to bring him into Matt Murdock’s world made it to the table before being scrapped.
So here’s a fun bit of Marvel trivia you probably missed: Tom Hiddleston — yeah, the guy who’s been Loki since the MCU started — almost directed an episode of Daredevil: Born Again. That’s not a typo. He wasn’t just up for a cameo or some quick, winking Marvel appearance. He was actually lined up to be behind the camera, calling the shots on one of the episodes. If that seems out of nowhere, well, it kind of was.
How Tom Hiddleston Nearly Became a Daredevil Director
All this came out thanks to Charlie Cox (a.k.a. Matt Murdock to basically everyone who watches these shows) talking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Cox dropped this very random behind-the-scenes fact:
'The first season of Born Again, before the strike, was going to be 18 episodes. Tom was going to direct one of the episodes. One of the great losses on the back half of that original season. Even though the changes that were made to that show were needed, necessary, and made it much better, but he was going to direct episode 12 or something.'
Let’s break down what happened:
Marvel’s original plan for Daredevil: Born Again was pretty ambitious — 18 full episodes. Somewhere around episode 12, Tom Hiddleston was supposed to be in the director’s chair. Then, the whole thing hit a snag (the strike and, let’s be honest, some creative growing pains). The entire first season got slashed in half: from 18 down to just 9 episodes. Hiddleston’s episode, along with a bunch of other stuff, got cut in the process.
What Actually Happened to the Show
- Originally planned: 18 episodes for season one, Hiddleston set to direct one (reportedly episode 12)
- After the so-called great “creative reset”: Season one trimmed to 9 episodes instead
- Season two: Ended up at 8 episodes, already finished its run on Disney+
- Season three: Supposedly coming in 2027, so mark your calendars… and then probably forget to check them, because that’s ages from now
Why It Would've Been Cool to Have Hiddleston Direct
This is kind of a Marvel “what could have been.” Hiddleston isn’t just any MCU actor — the guy pretty much is Loki at this point and probably knows better than anyone how this whole franchise ticks, especially on the TV side thanks to his work on Loki (honestly, still the best Marvel show, and fight me if you disagree). Letting him step behind the camera would have brought a new angle to Daredevil: Born Again — maybe it would’ve landed, maybe it wouldn’t, but it absolutely would have been interesting.
What’s Next for Hiddleston?
Hiddleston isn’t done with Marvel just yet — he’s coming back as Loki in Avengers: Doomsday (assuming nobody at Marvel changes their mind again before the movie actually happens). There’s a pretty good chance his time as Loki could be wrapping up soon, so seeing him start to move into directing would be a smart way for Marvel to hang onto one of their most recognizable stars, even if he’s not wearing the horns anymore.
No word yet if Marvel will hand Hiddleston another directing gig — but after losing out on his Daredevil episode, it honestly feels like they should make it happen. At this point, letting the guy direct a superhero show seems like both good business and a reward for surviving years of Marvel reshoots.