MOVIE NEWS – With the Daredevil reboot series getting a series order on Disney+, many wonders if Born Again will be related to the original Netflix series. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

In 2018, to the shock of many, the Daredevil series starring Charlie Cox was cancelled. For as long as the series ran, it looked like the fan-favourite comic book hero would finally be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – until the series was cancelled, much to the dismay of fans and Cox. Season 3 of Daredevil ended with Matt Murdock persuading Wilson Fisk to go to prison instead of his wife, Vanessa. According to Newsweek, many fans felt that the series ended with the tie-in to the X-Men – another franchise that has long been rumoured to become part of the MCU eventually.

After a three-year hiatus, Cox reprised his role as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Fans have been vocal about their enthusiasm for a possible MCU reboot or an upcoming movie, especially after petitioning for so long for Cox to join the franchise officially. Now, Disney+’s recent announcement of a Daredevil reboot, titled Daredevil: Born Again, as a (sort of) sequel to the Netflix series, offers a lot of hope and excitement for the character. The question, of course, is to what extent and in what form will Daredevil: Born Again be related to the original Netflix series?

Is Netflix an MCU canon?

Over the course of its three seasons on Netflix, Daredevil explored the troubling underbelly of crime in Hell’s Kitchen. Instead of battling aliens emerging from a portal or gods from Asgard, Matt Murdock fought the crime lords who ruled New York from the shadows. Matt may be a lawyer by day, but his sense of justice at night is quite violent.

The Netflix series was darker and more brutal compared to the recent MCU movies, which by comparison, were like a trip to Disneyland.

Other Netflix series have similarly presented the rest of The Defenders, such as Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Each Netflix series made references to the larger scale of the MCU, from newspaper headlines about the Battle of New York from The Avengers in Karen Page’s office to jokes about Jessica Jones’ heroes. On the issue of MCU canon, however, the series conspicuously failed to make it into the MCU timeline guide when it moved from Netflix to Disney+ earlier this year.

Is Daredevil: Born Again related to Netflix’s Daredevil?

Daredevil: Born Again will reportedly draw inspiration from Frank Miller’s comic book story of the same name, which details Matt’s downfall and his subsequent attempts to rebuild himself, both personally and as a hero. Not much is known about the Disney+ series other than an expected spring 2024 release date, but there is a direct, albeit subtle, connection to Netflix’s Daredevil season 3. Taking place after The Defenders, in which Matt was thought to be dead, Daredevil season 3 showed viewers a character slowly trying to rebuild himself.

At this point, Daredevil: Born Again could work as a soft reboot of the Netflix series.

Ultimately, the title of the Disney+ series is a play on the character being born into a new franchise. At the same time, it is worth remembering that there are other characters from Netflix’s Marvel series that have been adapted for Disney+, which reinforces the connection between the two franchises.

Wilson Fisk is back

In the Disney+ series Hawkeye, Vincent D’Onofrio reprised his role as Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, seemingly on the way out of prison. As the former employer of Ronin, Hawkeye’s vengeful alter ego and Kingpin played a vital role in the series. But his terrifying presence in Hawkeye went far beyond Kate Bishop and Clint Barton. Wilson Fisk’s ‘adopted daughter’ was played by Maya Lopez, who would eventually take on the role of Echo. It has since been confirmed that D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk will also return in Daredevil: Born Again.

Perhaps it is best to assume that the new series will consider the old as canon, at least in its own right, but it is also ready to change past events like a soft reboot, should new twists in the story require it.

Source: Wired, Newsweek