On April 10th, 2015, Daredevil's first season arrived on Netflix. It was a big deal for the streaming service at the time, especially as their line-up of originals still didn't really stretch too far beyond House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. The deal between them and Marvel was announced in November 2013, and following the news that the shows were set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans were understandably excited to see the adventures of characters like Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones play out across a thirteen-hour series rather than in the constraints of a two-hour film.
Daredevil debuted to positive reviews and record-breaking viewing figures, while fans, for the most part, really enjoyed it. There were some warning signs, however; it didn't really tie into the wider MCU beyond some passing mentions of The Avengers' Battle of New York, and the finale didn't really stick the landing when it came to that costume either. What had been a grounded and brutal origin story for the Man Without Fear became almost cartoonish, and the reluctance to embrace the source material ultimately posed a problem for all these shows.
Despite the way comic books inspired the MCU on the big screen, executive producer Jeph Loeb had the mindset of someone stuck in the mid-2000s, and simply refused to embrace that. That was evident from Daredevil's final costume, a suit clearly meant to be as "realistic" as possible...which didn't even include the familiar "DD" logo!
For the most part, though, the show was definitely a success and the opening chapter in what proved to be a very hit-and-miss legacy for the group of characters who would become known as The Defenders. Ultimately, Daredevil lasted for only three seasons, and was cancelled alongside every other Marvel TV series which aired on Netflix once it became clear Disney had plans to launch their own streaming service. In the case of 'ol Hornhead, his show received the axe from them on November 29th, 2018, a crushing blow to fans after what proved to be a much-improved, but arguably still flawed, third year.
This November, the two-year "non-compete"-style clause which means Netflix has exclusive rights to the Daredevil character comes to an end. That means Marvel Studios will be free to use him however they like, and with Spider-Man 3's production almost inevitably set to be delayed by COVID-19, we could get the team-up we've all been waiting for.
However, back in 2012, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was happy to let Fox keep the rights to Matt Murdock and company in exchange for Galactus and the Silver Surfer. They refused, but that could be a sign he's simply not a fan of the blind lawyer (or he just really, really wanted those Fantastic Four characters in the MCU). In an ideal world, Charlie Cox would be given the opportunity to reprise the role, but there's a lot of baggage there, and something tells us that Feige would want to start from scratch rather than having to abide by stories told in a world he had no involvement with...especially when some of the decisions made were far from great.
Time will tell what the future holds in store for Daredevil on the big - or small, given the popularity of Disney+ - screen, but he's a character with untold potential, and one who is definitely deserving of a second chance. Unfortunately, that's not something we'll hear more about until at least the end of this year/early 2021, and even then, we don't know how much of a priority the hero is for Marvel Studios.
Something tells us he will return to protect Hell's Kitchen sooner rather than later, though...