Did Marvel Just Make Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ Canon to the MCU?
Marvel’s Echo is dropping next week, and a new trailer has answered many fans’ prayers. Fans of Daredevil, that is.
The original Daredevil (not to be confused with Daredevil: Born Again), starring Charlie Cox as the crimefighting lawyer Matt Murdock, ran for three seasons on Netflix from 2015 to 2018. The show earned a devoted fanbase, and those fans were disappointed when the show was canceled before its planned fourth season.
Like other pre-Disney+ Marvel shows, Daredevil never seemed to exist squarely inside or outside of the main continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil characters occasionally referenced events happening in the MCU, like the Battle of New York in The Avengers, but it was never clear if the events of the series were canon to the MCU or not. Throw in the concept of multiple timelines in Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, and it was plausible that Marvel’s Netflix and ABC shows (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., etc.) all took place in separate realities.
Now, Marvel has finally provided some clarity.
New Echo trailer uses Daredevil clips to introduce Kingpin
Echo, which explores the aftermath of Maya Lopez’s (Alaqua Cox) attempt to take out Kingpin, has a new trailer out—and it uses numerous clips from Daredevil to give us a look into Kingpin’s character.
In the trailer, we see a scene from season 1, episode 8 of Daredevil, in which Kingpin, then only a child, kills his own father. After more scenes from Daredevil, the trailer gradually transitions into scenes from Echo. The trailer makes it clear that Kingpin survived Maya’s attempt to kill him, and he’s coming for her.
It also makes it clear that the events of Daredevil happened in the MCU. In fact, Marvel producer Brad Winderbaum confirmed that Daredevil takes place on Marvel’s Sacred Timeline (the term, coined in Loki, for all the events in the canon MCU). Speaking to Screenrant, Winderbaum said that in his eyes, Daredevil is canon: “I think that I personally, Brad Winderbaum, would be confident in saying [Daredevil] is part of the Sacred Timeline.”
Of course, making Daredevil canon begs some pretty big questions. Are the other Netflix shows now canon, since they take place in Matt Murdock’s world? Was Matt tied up with other business during the events of Hawkeye? Does this mean that the charming, cheerful Matt Murdock in She-Hulk is the same guy as the brooding Matt on Netflix? I mean, I’m happy for him! It just takes some adjustment.
In the meantime, all five episodes of Echo are dropping on Tuesday, January 9 on Disney+—which is also currently streaming all three seasons of Daredevil.
(featured image: Netflix)
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