As far as Marvel is considered,Daredevilis in fact a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ever sinceDaredeviland the other shows in theDefenders Sagafirst debuted on Netflix, there has been some debate with fans over whether they’re officially canonical with the MCU. There had been nothing on the series to outright contradict a link between them, but there had never been any crossovers either, leaving it up to interpretation is those shows were set in the same universe where Thanos did the infamous finger snap.
Of course, that all changed with the release ofSpider-Man: No Way Home, which brought back Charlie Cox for a special appearance as Matt Murdock. Prior to his return, Cox had spoken about the potentiality of bringing back theDaredevilcharacters. While we now know would be returning inNo Way Homebut that he couldn’t yet confirm as much, the actor did explain thatifhe were to reprise the role, it wouldn’t necessarily be as the very same Matt Murdock that he played inDaredevil, but perhaps as a reimagined version.
“Obviously, if something were to happen, that would be thrilling,” Cox teased. “But because enough time has passed, I would imagine it would have to bea kind of reimagining. Assuming that they choose to use us, it would be an interesting scenario, because it would be a reimagining but with the same foundation. So, I don’t know what it would look like.
Meanwhile, Vincent D’Onofrio has also reprised his role as Wilson Fisk in the Disney+ seriesHawkeye, set in the MCU. D’Onofrio was under a different impression from Cox, approaching the project as if it was the exact same character he played in theDaredevilseries. Even so, some fans continued to debate the issue, as D’Onofrio’s Kingpin was clearly much stronger than he was previously portrayed as inDaredevil.
“I think the Blip has happened, and I think his Kingdom took a bit of a hit, and he’s trying to get his city back. That’s how I played him, and I think that was the general idea,” D’Onofrio has said ofhis approach to reprising the role. “Obviously, in the show, he’s physically stronger and can take more physical abuse. But emotionally, and as far as the history that was discussed about what’s been going on, was done with connecting as many dots fromDaredeviltoHawkeyeas possible. There are obviously things that we can’t connect — for instance, he’s stronger — but as far as how I played him and the history that I carry myself from and intoHawkeye, he is the same guy.”
Related:Daredevil: Why the MCU Needed to Reboot the Series, Explained
Marvel Considers the Daredevil Series and No Way Home Part of the Same Story
These conflicting answers haven’t exactly closed the debate, but for what it’s worth, Marvel considersDaredevil’s events to be part of the MCU. This comes from the company’s official website,Marvel.com, which includes detailed information about its on-screen characters. A full profile for Matt Murdock lists all of the events that happen in the three seasons ofDaredevilas originally streamed on Netflix. What has gotten Marvel fans' attention is the final paragraph, which mentions his appearance inSpider-Man: No Way Home.
“Sometime later, Matt was hired as an attorney to defend Peter Parker, as Peter had been publicly outed as Spider-Man and accused of Mysterio’s murder. Though Peter was legally cleared of any wrongdoing, Matt warned him he’d still have to face the court of public opinion and advised Harold ‘Happy’ Hogan to hire a good lawyer,” the text reads.
Those first two words, “sometime later,” seems to acknowledge that all of those events from theDefenders Sagaare a part of the same story of the characters that we see inNo Way HomeandHawkeye. Perhaps now it’s easier for Marvel to admit as much with these shows having moved from Netflix over to Disney+. Now, it just remains to be seen ifDaredevilwill ever be revived with new episodes of its own, or if and when we will see these characters again in the MCU.
