‘Daredevil’ Star Unable To Be Cast in Any MCU Movie, Reason Confirmed
The return of Marvel’s Devil of Hell’s Kitchen has already reshaped the studio’s television strategy—but whether Daredevil’s revival ultimately extends beyond Disney+ remains unresolved.
Marvel Studios formally announced Daredevil: Born Again at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, with Kevin Feige unveiling plans for an expansive 18-episode Disney+ series. What followed was a turbulent development process that culminated in a public creative overhaul ahead of the show’s March 2025 debut.
That reset led to the exit of original creators Matt Corman and Chris Ord, along with most of the initial creative team. Dario Scardapane stepped in as showrunner as Marvel recalibrated its approach to streaming, moving toward a more traditional television pipeline. Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s Head of Streaming, Television and Animation, has since acknowledged that the studio now develops more series concepts than it ultimately produces, allowing showrunners to guide projects from the earliest stages.
Helping stabilize the new direction were directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, whose work on Moon Knight and Loki positioned them as key creative voices during the transition.
The shake-up didn’t erase the show’s foundation. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio remained in place as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, joined once again by Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll, and Jon Bernthal reprising their Netflix-era roles as Foggy Nelson, Karen Page, and Frank Castle/The Punisher. The episode order was trimmed to nine for the first season, with Season 2 already scheduled for later this year.
Audience response has largely been favorable, though some viewers have noted the tonal seams left by merging two creative visions. One clear remnant is the fifth episode, “With Interest,” a bottle episode centered on Cox’s Murdock opposite Mohan Kapur’s Yusuf Khan from Ms. Marvel. Other episodes blend material from both iterations of the series.
With Daredevil now firmly integrated into the MCU, speculation has shifted toward theatrical possibilities. Cox already made that leap via Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), but Fisk’s path to the big screen appears far less clear.
Bernthal is co-writing a Marvel Special Presentation focused on the Punisher and is slated to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026). Fisk’s cinematic status, however, remains complicated.
“The only thing I know is not positive. It’s a very hard thing to do, for Marvel to use my character,” D’Onofrio told Josh Horowitz last year. “It’s a very hard thing to do because of ownership and stuff.”
“Right now, I’m only usable for television series,” the actor continued. “Different kinds of series, whatever it is, but not even a one-off Fisk movie or anything like that, it’s all caught up in rights and stuff. I don’t know when that would work out, or if it ever would work out at all, actually.”
More recently, D’Onofrio reiterated to The Playlist that he will not appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, citing restrictions tied to character rights. “No. I think I’ll just wait until they have the rights to my character and they put me in one of those movies, and then I’ll figure it all out,” he said.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is positioned as Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures’ next theatrical release, ahead of Avengers: Doomsday (2026), directed by returning MCU veterans Antony and Joe Russo.
Tom Holland’s fourth solo Spider-Man film borrows its title from the 2008 comic storyline that reset Peter Parker’s world. Following No Way Home’s memory-erasing spell, Holland has described the film as “a fresh start,” with Peter navigating college life while looming threats—including the arrival of Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.)—draw him back into action.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written once again by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, filming wrapped in late 2025 ahead of its July 31, 2026, release. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon return, joined by Sadie Sink and Bernthal’s toned-down Punisher. The approach leans street-level, echoing classic Spider-Man storytelling as Phase Six builds momentum.
Despite anticipation, Marvel has seemingly declined to debut a trailer during Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, opting instead to spotlight Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026).
Marvel’s Daredevil originally aired on Netflix from 2015 to 2018, earning acclaim for its grounded tone and character depth. Set in Hell’s Kitchen, the series followed Murdock alongside Foggy and Karen, with D’Onofrio’s Fisk emerging as one of Marvel’s most complex antagonists.
Developed by Drew Goddard and shepherded by multiple showrunners, the series anchored Marvel’s Netflix slate and set expectations that continue to shape Daredevil: Born Again as the character’s future unfolds.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 begins on March 24, 2026. Watch the trailer here:
How do you feel about the Daredevil: Born Again cast appearing in the MCU on the big screen? Let us know in the comments down below!
