Before Kevin Feige took complete creative control over the MCU, Marvel Entertainment relied on Marvel Television to produce a range of television releases that would run along with the Avengers movies. The shows, such as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, would feature a handful of Marvel’s street-level characters and rely on the MCU’s Phase 1 recipe that would later result in The Defenders. Since these were produced way before Disney+’s launch in 2019, Netflix acted as a distributor with exclusive streaming rights.
The reason why Marvel decided to go with Netflix was simple: Marvel initially catered to PG-13 audiences, and these were just too violent at the time. Sadly, the The Defenders, which was highly anticipated at the time turned into an artistic and commercial failure and an utter disappointment for Marvel. It also spelled the beginning of the end for Netflix shows whose status within the MCU canon remained ambiguous for a very long time. However, with the recent announcement of Daredevil: Born Again, The Defenders officially became canon to the MCU.
To be fair, the canonization of The Defenders didn’t begin with Daredevil: Born Again. Marvel’s reclamation of these shows, from a narrative perspective, actually began with the appearance of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin in 2021’s Hawkeye. This was initially interpreted as an homage to Netflix’s universe using the same actors. Then Matt Murdock appeared in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home as an attorney who got Peter’s charges dropped. He afterward appeared in Episode 8 of 2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
His appearance in the latter was actually dubbed “the series biggest surprise” by the series’ showrunner Kat Coiro. She-Hulk ended up being a flop, but it low-key signaled that Marvel isn’t done with the series it previously produced. This was further reinforced by Kingpin and Daredevil’s appearance in 2024’s Echo, with the former being the show’s antagonist. This leads us to the recently announced Daredevil: Born Again, whose trailer clearly shows that the Kingpin knows Matt Murdock is Daredevil, which is something he discovered in Netflix’s Daredevil.
This is really important because it shows that the events of Netflix’s Daredevil are canon to Daredevil: Born Again, which is, in turn, canon to the MCU. Therefore, the events of Daredevil are also canon to the wider MCU. Daredevil also ties heavily into The Punisher, which is mostly a self-contained series. Given Frank Castle’s appearance in Born Again, it would seem that the latter also received the same treatment. This seemingly leaves The Defenders out of the equation, at least at first glance.
However, The Defenders and other Netflix shows go a really long way to making Daredevil and The Punisher work. Since the MCU already adopted those two back into the canon, there’s really no reason to leave The Defenders behind. Not after they also included Wesley Snipes’ Blade and Jennifer Garner’s Elektra in Deadpool & Wolverine. And if that isn’t confirmation enough, Marvel Studio’s Head of Streaming, Brad Winderbaum, basically confirmed that Netflix’s Marvel shows — all of them — are MCU canon.
According to Winderbaum, incorporating The Defenders and other shows into the canon was one of the most challenging creative endeavors Marvel Studios ever undertook, but it was spurred by the arrival of the Disney+ streaming service and the redevelopment of Daredevil: Born Again. Since The Defenders and other Netflix shows played a major role in establishing the mythology and backstories following up to Born Again, including them in the canon was the only logical solution.
In an interview with Black Girl Nerds, Winderbaum went further to confirm that the collision of The Defenders within the world of the Daredevil universe is “inevitable” further sealing this confirmation to be a sure thing. The only question is when. Take a look at the clip below:
You can watch our full interview with Brad Winderbaum here.
He also acknowledged that the studio was previously a little cagey about what was part of MCU’s Sacred Timeline, but the subsequent integrations of The Defenders and adjacent releases were further solidified with cameos and role reprisals, as well as Disney’s official confirmation in early 2024. Furthermore, Disney now directly places the aforementioned series alongside Phase Two and Phase Three content, thus reinforcing their canonical status.
Sadly, while The Defenders officially made canon, there still aren’t any details about when the characters from series other than Daredevil might turn up in the MCU, if ever. But, following everything that has happened with the MCU in recent years, as well as various integrations with previously separate cinematic universes, it’s clear that there’s an ongoing effort to bring back many aspects of the shows that once streamed on Netflix. Not only that, but the reintroduction of these characters will definitely bring joy to fans who were devastated following their previous cancellation.
While this is truly great news for the fans of The Defenders, it still begs the question of what’s going on with other adjacent shows, like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Runaways, and Cloak and Dagger. Although the characters from these shows didn’t appear in the aforementioned Netflix series, they are part of Marvel’s universe. There are several easter eggs woven together throughout the shows, including the Judas Bullet from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which was actually introduced in Luke Cage.
Daredevil: Born Again releases on March 4, 2025.