Born Again Opening The Door For Daredevil's Netflix-Era Allies

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Summary

Daredevil: Born Again is highly anticipated due to its Netflix predecessor and may pave the way for more characters from that era to join the MCU.
Marvel Studios is considering bringing in Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Elektra, and the Hand from the Netflix era into the MCU.
The success of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+ could lead to more heroes from the Netflix era joining the MCU, with a positive outlook and commitment from executives.

Daredevil: Born Again was a dream come true for many fans of the titular character’s exploits as part of Netflix’s Marvel lineup of shows, and the rest of the wishlist might be in view as well, thanks to The Man Without Fear leading the charge.

Daredevil: Born Again has become the most hotly anticipated Disney+ show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history on the streamer, in no small part thanks to its predecessor on Netflix. Running as the flagship show of Netflix’s interconnected universe of Marvel TV shows, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil built up a strong fanbase and created momentum for the other heroes and even a team-up as the Defenders. While the MCU seemed to make the rest of the Netflix-era shows non-canon inadvertently, the larger franchise would seemingly course correct and leave the door open for more characters from that period to step into the MCU. Since then, fans have been eager for some sort of confirmation that their other favorites would be returning to the roles.

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While Kevin Feige weighed in on More Netflix characters joining Daredevil in the MCU early on in the production cycle, fans recently got an answer that inspires much more confidence just days out from the show’s debut. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive deep dive into the upcoming show, Marvel Studios’ head of streaming, television, and animation, Brad Winderbaum, had something to say about how Daredevil: Born Again was paving the way for the studio to bring in Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones, Mike Colter’s Luke Cage, and Finn Jones’ Iron Fist from the Netflix era and into the MCU as well. “I can’t say much, but I’ll tell you that it’s so exciting to be able to play in that sandbox,” Winderbaum says. “Obviously we don’t have the unlimited storytelling resources like a comic book. If you can draw it, you can do it. It’s dealing with actors and time and the massive scale of production in order to build a cinematic universe, especially on television. But I can just say that all those variables taken into account, it is certainly something that is creatively extremely exciting and that we are very much exploring.” While the answer doesn’t give any commitment in classic studio exec style, the general idea is clearly very positive.

Winderbaum was also asked about the possibility of Elektra Natchios and the villainous group the Hand also making the jump to the MCU, and the Daredevil: Born Again executive producer gave a fairly hopeful answer. “Who knows what the future brings? Once we arc out here, there’s obviously any number of stories that we’d want to revisit or pull from the comics that involve Elektra or the Hand or any part of the Daredevil mythos.” While Winderbaum played coy with Elektra and the Hand, fellow Daredevil: Born Again executive producer Sana Amanat was far more forthcoming about the attitude backstage concerning them. “100 percent it’s in the back of our heads,” Amanat said to Entertainment Weekly concerning Elektra and the Hand. “Eventually, we’ll try to figure out a bit more with that.” A recent casting call for the show seems to be a dead giveaway that the showrunner and other execs are already committed to Elektra joining Daredevil: Born Again after season one, but fans will have to wait for some official confirmation on that end as well.

While Daredevil: Born Again’s showrunner had some controversial critiques of the original Netflix show, the general attitude towards the older shows at Marvel Studios seems to be more positive on the whole. If the show is a success on Disney+, fans can certainly look forward to more heroes from the Netflix era making the jump to the MCU. With fans, executives, and even the stars themselves on board with a return, there’s a real positive outlook on the team from Marvel’s Defenders fighting for good in the same universe as the new lineup of Avengers.

Daredevil: Born Again is set to premiere on Disney+ on March 4, 2025.