The original Marvel Television's slate of projects, including shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Daredevil, and Runaways, were supposed to be set in the MCU. They referenced certain events and occasionally even featured appearances from heavy-hitters like Nick Fury and Sif, but we'd later learn that Marvel Studios wanted nothing to do with them.
Kevin Feige's role in those series ultimately boiled down to stopping Marvel Television from using characters he wanted in the MCU. Years later, Marvel Television was resurrected—now fully under the Marvel Studios banner—and the decision was made to bring at least some of those shows into the MCU, starting with the Defenders Saga.
While it's unlikely that Marvel Studios will be beholden to previous creative decisions, plans to completely ignore the events of Daredevil were scrapped when Daredevil: Born Again was creatively overhauled during Season 1.
However, like its predecessor, it seems the Disney+ series takes place in a bubble that's slightly removed from the MCU. Yes, The Punisher will appear in this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but it doesn't appear as if there are any plans for the Man Without Fear to meet the wall-crawler or the Avengers.
Talking to SFX Magazine (via Deadline), Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane explained why MCU characters from the movies aren't likely to drop by Hell's Kitchen.
"I’d be into it, because I dig the comics!" he told the publication. "But no. That’s been kind of a fun and challenging thing. We know there’s that huge world out there of the MCU. This corner of it has crossovers. We’ve seen Daredevil in other shows."
"There are other characters that are going to be popping up in movies and stuff, and that all goes into the larger MCU of it all," Scardapane continued. "The joke we make is, 'Oh, those guys are uptown – we’re downtown!' We kind of have a pocket that’s in this world of Hell’s Kitchen, in this world of New York."
"I always think that maybe these characters take little vacations into the larger world, but the story that we’re focusing on is really granular."
Charlie Cox has made cameo appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Echo, so Matt Murdock showing up elsewhere isn't outside the realm of possibility. Beyond that, it seems the plan is for Daredevil: Born Again to remain fairly self-contained heading into Season 2 and next year's Season 3.
In Daredevil: Born Again, survival, resistance and redemption collide as the battle for the soul of New York begins. In Season 2, Mayor Wilson Fisk crushes New York City underfoot as he hunts down public enemy number one, the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante known as Daredevil.
But beneath the horned mask, Matt Murdock will try to fight back from the shadows to tear down the Kingpin’s corrupt empire and redeem his home. Resist. Rebel. Rebuild.
Daredevil: Born Again returns to Disney+ on March 24.