Following the disappointing 2003 Daredevil movie starring Ben Affleck, the Man Without Fear returned to our screens in 2015 with Netflix's Daredevil. In 2018, the series ended prematurely, but Charlie Cox returned to our screens three years later in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
After a handful of additional cameo roles, he's now starring in Daredevil: Born Again. Season 2 has started streaming on Disney+, while production on Season 3 is already underway in New York. It's a superb series, and an exciting time to be a fan of this character. However, Charlie Cox and Daredevil deserve more than just being relegated to streaming.
Imagine the rain-slicked streets of Hell's Kitchen on the big screen, billy clubs cracking, radar sense guiding the fight; that's the Daredevil movie Marvel owes us, whether it's a solo outing or an appearance in the Avengers and Spider-Man franchises.
In this feature, we're exploring why it's time for Marvel Studios to bring Matt Murdock back to the big screen...
A Spider-Man Team-Up Is Long-Overdue
Ask any Marvel fan what they want from Spider-Man in the MCU, and the answer is almost always the same: a team-up with Daredevil. We got a taste of this in Marvel Animation's Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, a series which showed us the amazing potential of exploring Matt Murdock and Peter Parker's dynamic on screen.
This summer, Punisher will take centre stage in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, proving that a grounded, mature character from a TV-MA setting can make the transition to a PG-13 blockbuster (and, unlike Frank Castle, Daredevil doesn't kill the criminals he encounters). While something may happen in the Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 finale that explains the vigilante's absence, this meeting needs to happen in live-action.
Following a hit-or-miss Multiverse Saga, Marvel Studios would be wise to give fans what they've been crying out for in Spider-Man 5. Whether Daredevil acts as a mentor to Spidey or, preferably, they become friends and allies, there are any number of villains—not just The Kingpin—that these two could team up against.
The presence of The Hand in Spider-Man: Brand New Day may even be hinting at that, and is hopefully a sign of things to come in the next Saga. Either way, Daredevil and Spider-Man finally standing side-by-side on screen is an undeniably great reason to bring 'ol Hornhead to theaters.
A Larger Focus On Street-Level Storytelling
While the constant talk of "superhero fatigue" has died down in recent months, it's clear that Marvel Studios needs to move on from its all-too-familiar formula. That's evident from the positive reactions received by projects like The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Wonder Man, compared to the somewhat more forgettable Captain America: Brave New World and Ironheart.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day looks set to move on from world (or universe) ending stakes to tell a street-level story. With all signs pointing to the movie being a huge hit thanks to a record-breaking trailer, it should be enough to convince Marvel Studios that street-level superheroes also have a place in theaters.
Not only would this benefit the Man Without Fear, but it could breathe new life into other characters. Moon Knight can return as a vigilante, and Midnight Sons evolving into Marvel Knights wouldn't be the worst idea. After all, there's often a crossover between street-level storytelling and the supernatural, something Frank Miller made sure of with his unforgettable Daredevil run.
Yes, Matt could join the Avengers, but a much better use of the character would be to expand the types of superhero stories we see, not just on streaming, but in theaters as well (leading to a return to consistent box office success).
Charlie Cox Deserves It...And He's Earned It
As noted, Charlie Cox joined the MCU in 2015's Daredevil, a Marvel Television series that streamed on Netflix. However, the divide between them and Marvel Studios meant all those "Defenders" series were mostly MCU-adjacent. Fortunately, that all changed with Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021.
After a brief but memorable cameo in that movie, Cox has done what was asked of him, whether it was an all-too-brief cameo in Echo or a complete tonal shift for the Man Without Fear in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. He's since gone on to wow us all with a stellar turn in Daredevil: Born Again, but more than a decade after first being cast as Matt, he's still being overlooked.
Cameos in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are possible, albeit not likely, based on rumours and comments from Cox himself. It does a disservice to the actor and character, and Cox is an underrated, extremely talented actor who can more than hold his own in a theatrical release.
We don't want Daredevil: Born Again to end, but would have no complaints seeing the hero make the transition from streaming to film, similar to what's happened with Din Djarin in The Mandalorian and Grogu.
A Daredevil Movie Is A Natural Next Step
Expanding on that previous point, as much as we'd like to see Daredevil transition from television to film begin with a meeting with Spider-Man, Marvel Studios' ambitions for this character need to be even bigger. Yes, we're talking about a Daredevil solo movie.
Kevin Feige wants to move on from making fans feel like they need to watch the Disney+ TV shows as "homework" before checking out the studio's latest feature, so this would need to be a clean break. Fortunately, that's something Daredevil is all too familiar with as a character.
No two comic book runs featuring Daredevil are the same. Just look at how Brian Michael Bendis' stint on the title transitioned into Ed Brubaker's. It went from gritty crime noir to a prison-set tale, before Andy Diggle delivered a full-blown supernatural event in Shadowland. Then, Mark Waid took the hero back to his campy roots, before Charles Soule and Chip Zdarsky pit Matt against Mayor Kingpin (with vastly different approaches).
A movie could be a fresh start, with the benefit of knowing that all those existing TV viewers will happily tune in. Marvel Studios would have figured out how to sell moviegoers on the hero, but with a fresh new approach to the character that respects his roots, it wouldn't be too difficult. The result could be one of the MCU's best blockbusters.