Unlike most shows, Daredevil didn't call it quits in 2018 because it was unliked or wasn't getting enough views. The show was an unfortunate casualty of Disney nixing Marvel TV to marshall its resources for the rebranded Disney Plus. Now, with Cox's uproarious return as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Daredevil's move to Disney Plus, everything is shaping up for a new season of the beloved drama.
Daredevil himself is portrayed by the cunning Charlie Cox, who cut an at times frightening and at other times adorable figure. The devout lawyer and catholic and torn vigilante quickly rose through the ranks across three seasons, becoming many fans' favorite Marvel hero of all time. In the original series, Cox led a brilliant ensemble cast, including Deborah Ann Woll as the dynamic supporting character Karen, Elden Hensen as Murdock's partner and bestie Foggy, and the acclaimed Vincent D'Onoffrio as the show's lead antagonist, Kingpin. From character dynamics to plot lines to returns of past villains, here's what we hope to see from a series continuation of Daredevil.
Characters We Hope Return
We really hope Hensen will return as Foggy. We also would like to see the show's strongest voice of reason and anchor of sweetness and kindness, Marcy. In contrast, there should also be a place for the disturbing villain Bullseye, who was responsible for the death of Father Lantom in the church. The actors that have indicated a return to Daredevil are Vincent D'Onofrio and Deborah Ann Woll. The former played Kingpin in an episode of the Disney Plus show Hawkeye, a stunning introduction to the Marvel universe. D'Onofrio can almost call his Daredevil role a breakout performance. We all knew who he was before, but his immersive, one-of-a-kind portrayal of a terrifying yet sympathetic, cruel child trapped in an oligarch's body, on a rampage to destroy anyone in particular who tries to take total domination away from him, quickly caught the attention of critics and fans.
Deborah Ann Woll just returned to the spotlight in the vein of Karen Page, Murdock's client, then assistant, then friend, then girlfriend, and then sort of friend again. While Karen is the love of Murdock's life in the comics, the show sees a much more complicated, complex relationship between the two, who just can't seem to figure out where they fit into each other's lives. Karen overall has a dynamic and growth trajectory that is increasingly powerful and independent across all three seasons. Her first few months in Murdock's life are marked by a kind of innocence, a typical damsel in distress. As the show delves deeper into Karen, we learn that she has devastating trauma and ghosts haunting her. She has even more to disturb her and is even more capable of forgiving and understanding the human condition than the vigilante himself.
Page's brother died in a car accident when she was driving under the influence, after spiraling down a self-destructive path following the death of her mother and depression from living in a rural town with few friends and no opportunities. Page has come a long way from being abandoned by her father to go-getter legal assistant and reporter, holding her own in the intrigue of Hell's Kitchen and Daredevil's world. It has weighed on fans that we didn't get to see a continuation of her story. Now, Woll herself has said that she would love to reprise her role as Karen at any time. She's just waiting for the call. Karen is so essential to Daredevil and The Punisher, where she had a crucial relationship with Frank Castle, and we hope that we get to see where her story takes her and us next. A rekindling of her romance with Daredevil would certainly make for great TV, especially if Elektra turns up again. Speaking of...
What Could Happen in Daredevil Season 4?
A big question about future Daredevil is how much of it will tie into the Defenders? Daredevil season 2 spent nearly all of its episodes setting up the Netflix version of the Avengers, not necessarily to Daredevil's benefit. In season 2, just when Matt Murdock was getting his life together, his world was upset by the arrival of his ex-girlfriend Elektra. Elektra's identity, life, and connections had a huge impact on Matt in the past and do so again, sucking him into her complicated, often toxic, mercilessly violent, and literally alien world.
While Elektra's storyline sets up the Defenders, Matt says multiple times throughout season 2 that he isn't sorry her return has more or less ruined the life he worked hard to build in her absence, and she is a multilayered character. Her presence ironically wrecked everything special about Daredevil. It's a cool show because it takes place on the gritty city streets, is steeped in generational NYC culture and lore, and is community-oriented. It's one of the few Marvel pieces self-contained to great, realistic, and relatable effects. It was absolutely blissful that Daredevil season 3 rediscovered this and returned to the show's roots.
The Best-Case Scenario
Daredevil season 3 is undoubtedly the show's best season, seeing an intriguing and outrageous plot centered around politics, corruption, crises of faith, depression, recovery, childhood trauma, and coming together as a community. Daredevil was always a kind of not-so-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and his world's rawness made the show awesome in a way few shows do. It is devastating, glorious, engaging, and thoroughly human and one of Marvel's best achievements. Ultimately, we hope that future Daredevil work will focus on its own world, while it would be pretty cool to see Murdock quipping it up with the Guardians of the Galaxy sometime, too.