Charlie Cox thinks the Marvel Cinematic Universe will recast his role as Daredevil and the rest of the Defenders instead of bringing the Netflix stars into the franchise.
After Cox shot down recent rumors that he would be reprising his role for the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel, the Daredevil lead had put another nail in the coffin for his potential return as Matt Murdock. Speaking to ComicBook.com, the actor admitted he doesn't think he'll get to play Daredevil in the MCU.
"I think the likelihood is, I think you'll definitely see Daredevil again," assured Cox, "I just think the best bet for them, in the unlikely nature of being able to get all of us together again, it should be a whole new team, and, you know, start again." Discussing the idea of casting someone else as Murdock, Cox added, "You know, why not? And, they do it with Spider-Man all the time. I keep consuming that stuff 'cause I love it."
Cox famously suited up as the Man Without Fear for Daredevil in 2015. This kick-started a Netflix universe of Marvel shows that included Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher and The Defenders. Daredevil was one of the best-received Marvel shows before being canceled after just three seasons. The Punisher was the last of Netflix's Marvel shows and rounded off in 2019. After the cancelation of Netflix's shows, there has been plenty of talk about Cox and other series stars reprising their roles for the larger MCU.
Disney has to wait two years from cancelation to use Daredevil and co., but even then, Cox's suggests that it would be a struggle to get the whole crew back together, "When you make a television show, it's so complicated, and people's schedules are so difficult, and contracts are so difficult... That's why when... you sign onto a TV show, you sign six years of your life away," explaining that without those contracts "it becomes too complicated to try and get all these moving pieces."
As well as Cox, the Netflix universe of Marvel shows was headed up by Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Finn Jones and Jon Bernthal. Their opinions on the series are unknown. However, Daredevil's Vincent D'Onofrio said he refuses to give up on a possible Season 4.
While Disney is powering ahead with its own web of MCU shows and movies thanks to Disney+, which may help create a more coherent shared universe. The same could not be said for the Netflix collection of Marvel shows. There were nods to familiar characters and locations, but shows like Daredevil largely stayed in their own little bubble. The writers of Avengers: Endgame admitted they considering including the Defenders but decided it was too much of a challenge to reintroduce so many heroes.
In any case, Cox's latest interview suggests that fans may not see the MCU introduce Daredevil and the rest of the Defenders, at least, not as they appeared on Netflix.