Marvel Studios has announced its upcoming movies and TV shows through 2025, confirming that the MCU is going to have more Daredevil than ever — specifically with the titular hero played by Charlie Cox returning to the franchise. Blind lawyer Matt Murdock, who moonlights as the superhero Daredevil, first entered the MCU in his eponymous 2015 show for Netflix. The series aired for three seasons before being canceled. In March 2022, Daredevil was removed from the streaming service and brought over to Disney+ along with the rest of Netflix's Marvel shows.
Daredevil centers on Matt Murdock as he navigates the legal system by day, with his law partner Franklin "Foggy" Nelson (Elden Henson), and fights crime by night. After the show was canceled, questions concerning Daredevil's status in the MCU canon were raised. Elements of the show, such as Vincent D'Onofrio's character Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, did become definite canon in the MCU, however, following his appearance in Hawkeye in 2021.
Matt Murdock then made his triumphant return to the MCU with his brief appearance as Peter Parker's lawyer, with super-human reflexes, in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Following his Spider-Man movie cameo, Marvel announced in July 2022 that Cox would re-appear as Matt Murdock in the 2023 show Echo alongside Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, once again played by D'Onofrio. Later, at Marvel's SDCC panel, Kevin Feige unveiled a new Daredevil show with 18 episodes, as part of the MCU Phase 5 slate, entitled Daredevil: Born Again. Also, at Comic-Con, Marvel premiered a new trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which features a brief shot of Daredevil in costume at the end. Finally, with Cox announced as the voice actor for Matt Murdock in the animated origin story Spider-Man: Freshman Year, the MCU truly has more of his Daredevil than was previously imagined possible.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige broke down the MCU superheroes into different corners of the universe. He stated that Daredevil, alongside Spider-Man, would be leading the MCU pack of street-level heroes: "We've got the street-level with the announcement of Daredevil and of course, Spidey going into the street-level heroes" (via MTV News). And they would leave more cosmic problems to heroes such as Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
When the head of Marvel Studios emphasizes the importance of Daredevil at the street-level portion of the MCU, it is no surprise to see Matt Murdock feature in so many upcoming MCU movie and TV projects. With Daredevil's return in Spider-Man: No Way Home proving that he has a place in the MCU, both canonically and stylistically, the amount of future MCU projects featuring Matt Murdock is exciting. Charlie Cox's upcoming presence as the character marks a distinct change for audiences as well, given his three-year disappearance between Daredevil's cancellation and his MCU reappearance in the Spider-Man sequel.-Collider
