Marvel Getting Rid Of Daredevil Canon?
At D23, Charlie Cox mentioned the possibility that Daredevil: Born Again may retcon at least some of the stories from Netflix's Daredevil series.
According to Marvel star Charlie Cox, the upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again may very well retcon some of the events of Netflix’s Daredevil. In a recent discussion at D23 with Entertainment Tonight, Cox said the new series may “potentially get to tell some of the stories over and over again in the same way that they do in the comics.” He brought up the example of Marvel Comics writers starting “back at the beginning of Murdock’s journey as a little boy and they tell the whole origin story again.”
From what Cox said, it doesn’t sound like Daredevil: Born Again will be a complete reboot, but may tell stories about the character we’ve already seen, but with certain events changed and/or new elements added. We should note Cox also said he’s “psyched” to find out how the Born Again writers will chronicle the time between the Netflix series and the Disney+ one, which wouldn’t be necessary or even possible if Born Again were a complete reboot. Other than specifically bringing up Daredevil’s origin story, Cox didn’t specifically mention any changes he knew about.
One possibility is that some of the potential changes Cox mentions could have something to do with keeping Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page out of Daredevil: Born Again. Woll recently revealed she isn’t confident about her chances of returning for the revival series. It’s a surprising development considering her character was popular enough that she snagged a recurring part in the spinoff show The Punisher.
As far as whether or not the news of retcons means something along the lines of Netflix’s Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again taking place in different corners of the Multiverse, that depends on how the changes are handled. If, for example, Matt Murdock’s origin story changes wildly, will those differences be acknowledged and/or explained? Will we learn that Matt’s memory in the Netflix series was warped for some reason?
If so, then we’re likely not talking about different timelines. If the changes come without any kind of sign, then yeah–Marvel might assign the Netflix stories to something like Earth-2015 (after the year Daredevil premiered on the streamer). If Matt Murdock winds up meeting Elektra Natchios in an Outback Steakhouse in Texas rather than at college, and no one checks the vigilante for head wounds, then the Multiverse is definitely involved.
If nothing else, a potential retelling of Daredevil’s origin could bring back the actor who delivered one of the best performances in all of Netflix’s Marvel series: Scott Glenn as Murdock’s cruel and unforgiving mentor Stick. Stick was killed off in the team-up series The Defenders, but–short of a resurrection–an origin retelling would be the perfect way to bring the character back. Unless Glenn is for some reason not willing to reprise the role, Marvel would be insane to recast it.
In the meantime Cox just made his MCU costumed debut (as opposed to his civilian ID appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home) as Daredevil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Before Daredevil: Born Again, most are expecting him to appear next year in Echo.
