The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future was (partially) revealed at Comic-Con 2022. The new “Multiverse Saga” was clearly framed, and we know every TV and movie project in will cover in Phase 4 and Phase 5, before we get to the final third in Phase 6. One project in Phase 5 that made Marvel fans all sit up and take notice was no doubt Daredevil: Born Again. Now, Born Again is looking like it could be a the official launchpad to a bigger story arc involving Marvel’s Defenders in MCU Phase 6.
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Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock already made his MCU debut, and She-Hulk’s trailer made it clear that “Daredevil” will be active in that series. We know the Daredevil and Kingpin’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) will be playing out their rivalry in the upcoming Echo series, while rumor is Daredevil will also be looking for Jessica Jones in that series. Fans have been equally curious about Daredevil: Born Again’s eighteen episode lineup, and what all those episodes will be delivering. Based on clues we already have, it’s looking like Daredevil’s story arc will be directly feeding into the MCU Defenders making their debut.
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Looking at the MCU Phase 5 slate, we know that Daredevil: Born Again will be one of the last projects that runs into before two pivotal films end Phase 5: Captain America: New World Order and (more importantly) Thunderbolts. Both of those films come with the ominous hint that the fragile superhero world post-Endgame could take a major hit, as some dark clandestine organizations and/or power players rise up to take hold of a vulnerable world. Phase 4 has seen the various Avengers facing some hard times in the post-Blip era – a theme of trauma and loss that will run through Phase 4’s ending, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, the rise of the Thunderbolts at the end of Phase 5 signals that the villains could be the ones to become the new heroic icons of the world. Fans of Marvel Comics like Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers know there are a lot of ways these villain teams can come together – including Wilson Fisk pulling the strings. Modern Marvel (and Daredevil) comics have also seen Kingpin take on a new sort of power as a political figure, able to bend law and order to his twisted whims, turning heroes into criminals, and vice versa.
If Phase 6 of the MCU kicks off with the normal hero/villain dynamic turned upside-down, the MCU will need non-official heroes to rise up and fight the new world order (hint). Daredevil’s story arc seems poised to make him and his fellow street-level heroes into much-needed defenders of what’s truly right, even if the law doesn’t support them. That would explain why we’ve seen hints of Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter possibly coming back: Jessica Jones and Luke Cage would definitely be part of that Defenders crew in NYC, with characters like Echo, Punisher, or even Tom Holland’s Spider-Man also involved. The point is: the writing is on the wall that Marvel will give The Defenders an actual storyline and place within the main MCU story arc – even if the end of Phase 6 and the larger Multiverse Saga ultimately reboots things all over again…
Daredevil with first return during the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law series which premieres August 17th on Disney+.
