Daredevil is returning to the MCU. Four years since the series was canceled by Netflix, it was recently reported that Marvel was developing a new Daredevil series for Disney+ that would be a continuation of the series. Rumors of the Daredevil character returning to the MCU had circulated for a while. They were given further fuel with the combination of Charlie Cox appearing as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Vincent D'Onofrio in Hawkeye in the same week, as well as the entire Defenders Saga, being taken off Netflix and brought over to Disney+.
Now, with the series officially confirmed, it joins a long list of other MCU series in development including Loki season 2, What If...? season 2, Secret Invasion, Echo, and Agatha Harkness, just to name a few. When the series will premiere and how Daredevil will fit into the established MCU has yet to be determined, yet some fans are already concerned.
One reason is the fact that the first three seasons of Daredevil were TV-MA with mature tones and were a very different type of Marvel superhero story, while the presence of the series being on Disney+ has some concerned it will try to fit more into the TV-14 tone the other MCU series have, which is similar to PG-13. The other is the fact that Daredevil ran for 13 episodes a season, while Disney+ series have been six episodes, leading many to be concerned about the pacing of the series.
Similar to a run in the comics, the character will go over many different arcs from different creative teams (even the original series on Netflix had a different showrunner each season), so change is part of the process when adapting a comic book superhero. There are many things to consider when Daredevil premieres on Disney+, but here are five important elements Disney, the MCU, the series creators, and audience members should consider going forward.
5 Don't Ignore The Past Series
The upcoming Daredevil series has been described as a continuation but something new, implying the series will be building off what came before it in the previous three seasons as well as The Defenders. The series should not be beholden to everything in the original series, as it should make for an accessible jumping-on point for new viewers, while also building off the work that was laid in the original series.
There were plenty of storylines left up in the air from Netflix's Daredevil that the series could continue, like Matt, Foggy, and Karen starting their own firm together or Matt's time and interaction with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, which could allow for those characters to re-enter the MCU. The other major issue the series can and should address is the five years during the Blip, as Daredevil season these was reportedly set shortly before those events (even though it premiered after Avengers: Infinity War). The series could fill in the gaps on if Matt Murdock was blipped and, if he was, what happened to Hell's Kitchen in his five-year absence, or if he did not blip, what were Daredevil's adventures like during the time. Plenty of rich narratives can be explored by embracing the original series.
4 New Suit
Daredevil has donned two suits in the MCU so far, a black prototype suit and the classic red costume most audiences know him as. Yet if he is about to headline a new series, a new costume is in order. The red is iconic, but the series' costume did not feature the character's logo, which is something the MCU could incorporate.
Or more drastically, he could get an all-new style in the form of the character's classic yellow and red outfit, the one he wore in his debut issue. Projects like Captain America: The First Avenger and the previous Defenders Saga series Luke Cage and Jessica Jones featured callbacks to the classic costumes, but Phase 4 of the MCU has had a great amount of fun putting characters in the live-action translation of their original Silver Age costumes. From Wanda and Vision's Halloween costumes in WandaVision, Richard E. Grant as classic Loki in Loki, or the most recent Thor: Love and Thunder trailer showcasing the original costume he wore in the costumes the classic yellow and red suit may fit right at home with the MCU's recent trend of paying sincere appreciation for the costumes that were once thought too silly.
3 Change in Tone
Daredevil drew heavily from the works of Frank Miller, whose comic run on the character drastically shaped the character. Season one is heavily inspired by 1993's Daredevil: Man Without Fear, even incorporating the black prototype suit, while season two borrows elements from the 1989 Elektra Saga, and season three drew heavily from 1986's Born Again. The series has also drawn other inspiration, from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Daredevil: Yellow to Daredevil fan Kevin Smith's Guardian Devil storyline, but for the most part the Daredevil of the MCU has been influenced and shaped by the work of Frank Miller.
With a new home on Disney+, now might be the right time to move Daredevil tonally and draw inspiration from other comic book runs. The series could return the character to his original 1960s roots as a swashbuckling hero, something writer Mark Waid implemented in his run while also maintaining the deep tragedy of Daredevil. Writers like Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, and Chip Zdarsky have also given great Daredevil runs that maintain the gritty realism of the previous Netflix series but also offer different characters and narrative avenues to explore.
2 Bigger Involvement in the MCU
While Daredevil's three seasons of his original series made references to MCU events like the Battle of New York, due to Marvel Studios and Marvel Television being run by two separate divisions, the references and crossovers were very limited. Now Daredevil can interact with the wider MCU in a way similar to how the character does in the comics. Audiences have already seen Matt Murdock as Peter Parker's lawyer in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the character is heavily rumored to appear in She-Hulk. Daredevil's martial arts connection could make a great crossover with Shang-Chi, or his status as a New York superhero could lead him to interact with Spider-Man in his next film. There are plenty of avenues for both Daredevil and Matt Murdock to intersect with various MCU heroes and villains.
While the MCU should not only rely on crossovers and much of Phase 4 has been about making sure new characters like Shang-Chi, the Eternals, and Moon Knight can stand on their own, Daredevil has already proven that with three seasons of television. It is time to let Daredevil play in the larger sandbox.
1 Keep The Cast
When Daredevil premiered in March 2015, one thing that stood out immediately was how well the series was cast. Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio as Daredevil and Kingpin respectively got most of the attention, but the series also went to great lengths to fill out the supporting cast. Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll may not have seemed like the immediate names for Foggy Nelson and Karen Page respectively, but by the end of season one, they found a way to portray those characters that paid respect to the original material but also allowed them to bring their own individuality to them where they are more interesting than the source material.
Marvel Studios and the MCU have thrived on its characters, and not just the main heroes but the supporting characters who have grown popular in their own right. Securing the cast of Daredevil is important for the series to continue, and given Cox and D'Onofrio's recent MCU appearances, it is more than safe to say will return and have a bright future in the MCU ahead of them.