Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, Episode 2, “Optics,” opens with a tribute to cast member Kamar de los Reyes. We’ve explained the full story behind this touching memorial below.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 2’s Dedication, Explained
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, Episode 2 starts with a brief dedication, which reads: “In loving memory of Kamar de los Reyes.” De los Reyes died of cancer in December 2023; Born Again is his final credited performance.
The reason why showrunner Dario Scardapane and his team waited until Episode 2 to memorialize De los Reyes (instead of the Season 1 premiere) is presumably because the Puerto Rican star doesn’t make his proper debut as Hector Ayala/White Tiger until Born Again‘s second installment.
Daredevil: Born Again is one of two high-profile pop culture releases dedicated to De los Reyes. 2024 video game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also features a tribute to the late performer. De los Reyes portrayed Barranca in The Great Circle‘s opening tutorial.
Did Kamar de los Reyes Finish Filming His Daredevil: Born Again Scenes?
Yes, Kamar de los Reyes wrapped filming on Daredevil: Born Again before he died. The actor’s wife (and fellow MCU alum) Sherri Saum confirmed this via X (formerly Twitter) in October 2024. “[Born Again] is the project Kamar de los Reyes was working on when he fell ill,” Saum wrote. “But he finished it and he was so proud of it.”
As such, all of de los Reyes’ scenes in Daredevil: Born Again are from the initial block of shooting in 2023, before Marvel Studios brought in Scardapane to overhaul the production. Roughly six episodes’ worth of footage was shot prior to Born Again‘s mid-shoot reset, with a second round of filming running from January to April 2024.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Tuesdays.