*SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE AND SPIDERMAN: NO WAY HOME*
With Marvel gaining a larger audience with each installment, it’s no wonder that the early Marvel Netflix shows are often forgotten. Like many other fans, I recently started watching Netflix’s Daredevil after the appearance of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Spiderman: No Way Home, and after finishing the first two seasons, I cannot wait for Daredevil to appear as a part of Phase Four.
Who is Daredevil?
Matthew Murdock, played by Charlie Cox, was introduced into the MCU in Spiderman: No Way Home as Peter Parker’s “really good lawyer,” catching a brick in mid-air, but there is much more to this character that has yet to be seen. Daredevil features Matt Murdock, lawyer by day, vigilante by night. After losing his eyesight in an accident as a child, Matt’s other senses became almost superhuman. Living in Hell’s Kitchen his entire life, he decides to finally try to put his heightened senses and martial arts skills to good use. Matt fights injustices in his neighborhood during the day at the office with his best friend Foggy Nelson and at night as “the man in the mask.”
How is Netflix’s Daredevil different from the Disney+ MCU shows?
The Netflix Marvel shows (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, etc.) were said not to be canon in the MCU, but with Vincent D’Onofrio, who played Kingpin in Daredevil, reprising his role in Hawkeye, this line became much blurrier. It is still unknown whether or not the events of Daredevil will become official canon or be scrapped in favor of a Daredevil project under the official Disney-owned Marvel team. Regardless, there is no doubt that Daredevil is much darker than the MCU films and Disney+ shows. Nothing is held back when showing on-screen violence, with gory red being showcased in the color theme. That being said, the banter and sarcastic wit of Matt Murdock are characteristic of Marvel and its heroes, so it will not be difficult to translate Daredevil as a character into the MCU.
Where will we see Matt Murdock next?
Since rumors of Charlie Cox reprising his role of Daredevil began in early December, speculation has been running wild of where Matt Murdock and his vigilante alter ego would appear. After his first official appearance in Spiderman: No Way Home, these theories did not stop, with many fans even expecting him to appear in the final episodes of Hawkeye to face his nemesis Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, from the original Daredevil series. A current popular theory is that Daredevil could appear in the Disney+ Moon Knight series premiering next month. Daredevil and Moon Knight share similar darker vigilante stories, so fans believe that Moon Knight beginning to embrace this sort of darkness in the MCU would create a perfect opportunity to introduce Daredevil, rather than just Matt Murdock. Another idea, perhaps with a bit more credibility, is that Matt Murdock (rather than Daredevil) will interact with fellow lawyer, Jennifer Walters, in her upcoming She-Hulk series alongside his friends Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. The writers for the Daredevil Netflix series will be returning to write the Disney+ series Echo, which will focus on Hawkeye’s Maya Lopez, so for now, this seems to be the soonest Marvel project that Daredevil is confirmed (rather than just rumored) to appear in besides for the eventual Marvel Daredevil project.
If you are getting impatient for the next Marvel project, I would definitely recommend giving Daredevil a try. The violence is a bit too much for me at times personally, but the characters and their story draw you in so that it becomes difficult to leave. I cannot wait to see which theories are right and where Matt Murdock/Daredevil will appear next. Marvel’s Phase 4 has a great lineup of new heroes and projects, and the Netflix Daredevil series provides audiences with a great opportunity to get to know the characters associated with Daredevil before they are officially introduced.