We’re only a few months away from the premiere of Daredevil: Born Again, but the idea of a Daredevil series that’s actually canon to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe still feels too good to be true. Until recently, Marvel seemed content to keep the hero of Hell’s Kitchen at arms’ length, which actually might have been the best thing for Daredevil. The series had the freedom to cultivate a more adult audience on Netflix, and it didn’t have to skimp on the bloodshed and dark themes that comic book fans may be familiar with.
Daredevil also stayed true to its source material, crafting a compelling origin story for its title hero and the most iconic members of his rogues' gallery. Though Netflix is often trigger-happy with its cancellations, there was a sense that Daredevil could have gone on for multiple seasons. According to Daredevil himself, Charlie Cox, the series was deep in development on a fourth season before the streamer intervened.
Netflix announced Daredevil’s cancellation in 2018, just a few months after its third season premiere. Showrunner Erik Olson had reportedly pitched a fourth to Netflix, and Cox told Entertainment Weekly that Olson and the writers were working on it right up to the cancellation.
“They’d pitched me a really cool arc for the season,” Cox said. “My understanding was they were really heavy into breaking that season in the writers’ room and then just overnight it went away.”
While Cox has always been coy with specific plot details, it’s not hard to guess where the next season of Daredevil might have gone. Season 3 ended with Daredevil defeating Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), and sending him back to jail. That wouldn’t have been the end of his troubles, however, as he’d still have to face off against the Kingpin’s new henchman, Benjamin Poindexter (Wilson Bethel).
In the comics, Poindexter eventually becomes a supervillain known as Bullseye, and Daredevil Season 3 laid the foundation for his origin story. Poindexter spends most of his time disguised as Daredevil in an attempt to ruin the hero’s reputation, but after Kingpin severs ties with him, he’s free to cultivate his own identity and hone his skills as a mercenary.
As Cox told Inverse in 2019, Season 4 likely would have focused on “the Bullseye persona” and the character’s dynamic with Daredevil. “I was looking forward to Wilson Bethel kind of getting to inhabit the character of Bullseye,” he said.
Back then, it didn’t seem like a possibility. But now, five years later, Daredevil: Born Again could pick up the threads its predecessor left behind. Cox, D’Onofrio, and Bethel are all reprising their roles in the upcoming series, along with Daredevil regulars like Jon Bernthal, Deborah Ann Woll, and Elden Henson. Per Bethel, the series picks up after a five-year time jump, so Cox’s Daredevil could be facing off against a fully realized version of Bullseye.
In a way, it’s as if nothing has really changed. Sure, we’ve missed about five years of stories from the Defenders universe, but Daredevil’s journey will continue, this time in the MCU. That’s definitely cause for celebration, even if we had to wait a while for it.
