Yes, Daredevil is officially coming to the MCU — and Charlie Cox is back in the saddle as the horned defender of Hell's Kitchen. This is, hopefully for fans, the outcome for many other characters as well. Including one we've been expecting to see in Hawkeye.
The news broke when MCU head honcho Kevin Feige told our sister-site CinemaBlend that Cox will be back as Matt Murdock. Feige explained that "If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil. Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen."
The phrasing here "remains to be seen," is practically a rib on Murdock himself, as we will expect to see the man who can't quite see, but still has the radar skills to echolocate an attack coming a mile away.
This has huge implications for the rest of Netflix's Defenders cast who could possibly break through the walls of Marvel's multiversal cinematic universe. Up until now, the MCU didn't acknowledge the existence of the Netflix versions of these characters, shrugging them off like Mariah Carey saying "I don't know her." This means a whole load of possibilities in the upcoming Marvel movies and series, some of which we'll break down below.
Daredevil in Hawkeye?
Daredevil doesn't need night vision goggles, so we're ignoring any speculation that the masked person in the Hawkeye episode 4 trailer is Matt Murdock. But we do know that Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Kate Bishop need all the help they can get.
Right now, the duo already have their hands full with at Echo and the Tracksuit Mafia and (as seen in the end of Hawkeye episode 3) Jack Duquesne who may be his Swordsman character from the comics. And thanks to the Black Widow post-credits scene we also know to expect Yelena Belova eager to exact misguided revenge on Barton.
On top of that, the big Hawkeye fan theory of the moment posits that Kingpin (played by Vincent D'Onofrio, who had the role on Netflix) is coming to the show as Echo and Kazi's "uncle." All those baddies, and just two pairs of bows and arrows? Sounds like a job for Daredevil (or, more likely, one of those baddies defects and helps the Hawkeyes).
Wondering when that happens? A Hawkeye episode 5 rumor gives us reason to think it's going down in the Dec. 15 episode.
Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home?
While an Imax trailer revealed that Matt Murdock isn't at the police station helping Peter Parker fight the accusations that he killed Mysterio, Spider-Man: No Way Home is still a prime location for Daredevil to appear in the MCU.
Especially, you know, since the movie is about breaking down all the walls across all the different eras of Marvel programming.
Daredevil and Spider-Man both share a home territory of New York City, and they've been interacting (and often as friends) in the comics since 1966. We don't know how much help Tom Holland's Spider-Man will be getting from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's variants, either. So, to repurpose that Chad Kroeger lyric, this is another place where a hero could save us.
Daredevil in She-Hulk
Long-standing whispers from fans suggest that Krysten Ritter could reprise the role of Jessica Jones in the Disney Plus' She-Hulk series. But She-Hulk is also a potential cross-over appearance for Daredevil, as the House of M crossover saw Daredevil and the titular character romantically involved.
Daredevil in Echo
While Feige's MCU introduced Echo in Hawkeye, the character's roots are actually in Daredevil itself. In the "Parts of a Hole" from writer-artist David Mack, we met Maya Lopez, the deaf martial artist who is currently looking for vengeance against Ronin right now.
This is now pretty-much confirmed, with The Hollywood Reporter confirming that the Devil of Hell's Kitchen will appear in Echo's solo series alongside Kingpin.
Daredevil in What If...? season 2?
Less thrilling, I know, because it would just be Cox's voice acting, but what if ... Daredevil was in the MCU all along? A twist on doing an entire origin story for Matt Murdock could come with showing how the Defender would have helped the Avengers.
You could also do a second Daredevil What If episode appearance, running off the possibility of what happens if Matt Murdock wasn't blinded as a child.
