Is it time to pull the plug on the fan hopes of reviving the “Defendersverse?” Consisting of Marvel shows developed exclusively for streaming on Netflix, this particular Marvel canon was first launched with season 1 ofDaredevilin 2015. This world was expanded with several spinoffs -Jessica Jones,Luke Cage,Iron Fist, andThe Punisher- and even had a limited series that brought them all together withThe Defendersin 2017.
While these shows were in production, it had been believed that they were set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing the continuity established in the various big-screen movies. Certain characters were mentioned in passing, but there wasn’t an official crossover where these characters actually interacted with the Marvel superheroes seen in theAvengersfilms. Even so, neither had exactly contradicted the other, and many fans treated the showsas a part of the MCU.
Marvel Studios appears to have since established that they do not officially see those Netflix shows as canonical to the MCU. In July,Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunnweighed in on the situation in response to a fan stating that the showsAgent CarterandAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are both set in the MCU. Gunn had noted that every one of the Marvel shows that were released “pre-WandaVision” are not seen by those actually making content for Marvel Studios as part of the shared universe. That would obviously include all of the Netflix shows as well.
“That’s incorrect. There was never any coordination between the earlier TV stuff & the cinematic side of Marvel like there is now that they’re all under the purview of Marvel Studios,” Gunn stated.
This basically means that Marvel creatives are outright ignoringDaredeviland its related series moving forward. The success ofWandaVisionmight play a driving force behind this decision, as maybe Marvel Studios would prefer to take a fresh shot atall of those popular charactersrather than picking up with a canon that another company established. That doesn’t necessarily mean that a newDaredevilshow was impossible, just that it was no longer seen as taking place in the MCU, meaning Marvel Studios had the freedom to do whatever they’d like with their own Matt Murdock.
In a recent Comic-Con appearance in London,Daredevilstar Charlie Cox spoke about the show’s possible future. Referring to rumors of a cameo inSpider-Man: No Way Home, Cox teased that he would be open to revisiting the role, but made it pretty clear thatifhe were to come back, it probably wouldn’t be as thesameMatt Murdock. Meaning all of those storylines and relationships that fans had been invested in will be rebooted, even with the same actor in the part.
“Look, a lot of time’s passed, so God knows if anything can for us in the future. I really don’t know. Obviously, if something were to happen, that would be thrilling. But because enough time has passed, I would imagine it would have to be a kind of reimagining. Assuming that they choose to use us, it would be an interesting scenario, because it would be a reimagining but with the same foundation. So, I don’t know what it would look like.”
With even Cox in total belief that any return ofDaredevilwould be asa “reimagined” version, that fourth season fans had been calling for seems to be officially toast. That’s certainly a bummer for the many who’d been demanding a new season for years, as there are now some loose ends that won’t be tied up. The good news is that it will still be awesome to potentially see some of these characters again, but for especially big fans of those Defendersverse shows, there’s the risk that it will just not be quite the same.
