Daredevil: Born Again Isn't Going To Bring Up A Controversial MCU Storyline

It's one thing to tell a (relatively) standalone story set in the midst of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it's quite another to do so without bumping up against what came before and what Kevin Feige has planned for the future. That's the same conundrum that has tested the mettle of many a filmmaker in years past (just ask former golden goose Joss Whedon), but "Daredevil: Born Again" showrunner Dario Scardapane found this particularly tricky to navigate during production of the upcoming Disney+ series. He said as much in a new and rather candid interview with SFX Magazine, admitting that the process of figuring out how to approach this newest season of "Daredevil" in a post-Netflix MCU involved a bit of trial and error. As he explained, "Marvel has a master plan, and what you're doing causes ripple effects. I would pitch stuff very early and I would hear that they had other plans."

Undeterred, Scardapane eventually settled on a more viable strategy. Rather than trying to run around and address every prior appearance by Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock/Daredevil, he simply picked and chose which events to acknowledge. Obviously, the entirety of the Netflix "Daredevil" series and the various crossovers seem to have been grandfathered into MCU canon, but what about more recent entries regarding one half of our favorite duo known as "avocados at law"? It goes without saying that Murdock's cameos in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law" really happened ... but maybe don't expect either of those to get a mention at any point throughout "Daredevil: Born Again." That goes double for one that raised a bit of controversy among fans. According to Scardapane:

"I have plenty of leeway up until I hit the larger-scale plan for the MCU. So I try to ignore some stuff [from the wider universe]. We establish a very specific Daredevil, both in terms of his dilemma, down to the suit and where we're picking him up in his life. You can say that 'Daredevil' is canon in the MCU, those other events [in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' and 'She-Hulk'] happened, but some of them we are not leaning into. His one-night stand with She-Hulk may be one of those things."

I have good news for every fan who had a full-blown meltdown over Matt Murdock acting entirely in-character when he went to pound town with Tatiana Maslany's Jen Walters/She-Hulk in "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law" — that whole business, including the hilarious "walk of shame" sequence as Daredevil trudged back home the morning after their hookup, likely won't get a single mention at any point in "Daredevil: Born Again." Your long, national nightmare is finally over!

For the rest of us who truly appreciate how much of an unrepentant horndog Murdock is, well, the revelation does come with a certain amount of logic. The "Daredevil" reunion series went through a surprising amount of behind-the-scenes turmoil in order to arrive at its current form, which now reunites Cox's Daredevil with original cast members Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Joe Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher, and especially Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Considering how much the new series has to pack into just nine episodes, well, it makes sense that the creative team could ill afford any unnecessary detours or subplots that would distract from the main storyline. For MCU fans, that means any lingering questions about Murdock's relationship with Tom Holland's Peter Parker (whom he probably doesn't remember anymore, considering Doctor Strange's whole memory-wipe hex shenanigans) or his fling with Jen Walters will have to remain unanswered for now.

That doesn't mean showrunner Dario Scardapane doesn't have other tricks hidden up his sleeve, however. In the same interview with SFX Magazine, he went on to tease:

They've moved Matt through other corners of the MCU, and now he's back in his own story. I don't want to give anything away, but you're going to see a character [in our show] you never thought you would, but they get folded into the story in a manner that is organic and exists in our world. New York, in the current state of the MCU, has a lot of stuff going on."

See? Being a part of the larger MCU doesn't have to be a disadvantage. We have no idea which new addition he might be referring to here (rumor has it that actor Margarita Levieva will be playing Matt's new love interest Heather Glenn, though that's likely not the character in question), but we can't wait to find out. "Daredevil: Born Again" premieres on Disney+ March 4, 2025.