Even before Thunderbolts* hit theaters, the trailers betrayed a deadly confrontation between the Void (Lewis Pullman) and the titular antiheroes at the heart of Manhattan. Since Thunderbolts* comes to theaters on the heels of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, placing the movie’s big battle in New York City raises serious questions about timeline cohesion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, in Daredevil: Born Again, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) was elected Mayor of New York City after running on a fierce anti-vigilantism campaign, promising to put an end to all masked-hero activity in the Big Apple. So, when a threat as massive as the Void threatens to swallow Manhattan whole in Thunderbolts*, it’s worth wondering if Mayor Fisk is actually overseeing the city while Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and their complicated crew are engaged in a desperate battle just outside his window.
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WARNING: Spoilers below for Thunderbolts*
To answer this question, we must break down the timeline of events in Thunderbolts* and Daredevil: Born Again, taking into account the official information from the projects themselves or Marvel Studios. Surprisingly, the first piece of the puzzle is WandaVision, which unfolds a few weeks after Avengers: Endgame. That positions the first Marvel Studios TV show on Disney+ in the fall of 2023, a timeframe confirmed by The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline. Agatha All Along connects directly to WandaVision, as it happens three years after Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) freed Westview, in the fall of 2026. The official Disney+ timeline then places Daredevil: Born Again immediately following Agatha All Along, which helps to understand when Fisk is elected.
Daredevil: Born Again begins by dealing with the aftermath of Foggy Nelson’s (Elden Henson) tragic death, an event that leads Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) to retire his Daredevil persona. The Disney+ placement establishes that Born Again‘s main events kick off one year after Foggy’s demise. This specific time jump places Foggy’s death squarely in late 2025, aligning with the broader MCU. After all, Matt appears as Daredevil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which wraps its story around the fall of 2025 in the canon.
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When the main storyline of Daredevil: Born Again begins in fall 2026, Wilson Fisk is actively running for Mayor of New York City. The season covers his campaign leading up to the election and a terrifying inauguration speech on New Year’s Day, 2027. The subsequent episodes depict Fisk’s actions during the initial months of his term, while Matt struggles to leave Daredevil in the past. Born Again‘s mid-season episode, revolving around a bank heist, unfolds on St. Patrick’s Day, precisely on March 17, 2027. Since several significant plot developments occur after this point, the rest of Born Again Season 1 likely occurs a couple of weeks or months after the bank heist, possibly in April or early May.
On the movie front of the MCU, Captain America: Brave New World is definitively set in spring 2027, anchored by the specific date of the White House gathering on April 16th. This places its events likely concurrently with the final episodes of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. Thunderbolts* then follows Brave New World, evidenced by Bucky Barnes already serving as Congressman and references to President Thaddeus Ross’ (Harrison Ford) Red Hulk transformation. The lack of winter weather in Thunderbolts* suggests its main events occur in summer or fall 2027, which is reiterated by the fact that Bucky hasn’t even served half his two-year term, being a congressman for a few months at most. Based on this sequence, Fisk could be the mayor during Thunderbolts*, depending on when the unreleased Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again unfolds.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Must Connect to Thunderbolts* Somehow
To maintain narrative coherence within the tightly woven MCU, especially concerning events happening in the same city around the same time, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 needs to acknowledge the massive, city-altering events of Thunderbolts*. A god-level being tearing through Manhattan while Fisk is around cannot simply be ignored, especially since the mayor has imposed martial law and severe restrictions on vigilante actions within the city. There are a few ways the show could handle this necessary connection.
The first possibility is that the entirety of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 takes place and concludes prior to Thunderbolts*. This would mean Fisk’s mayoral arc in Season 2 wraps up sometime in late spring or early summer 2027, just before the Void incident occurs. This approach avoids direct overlap but might feel compressed, potentially rushing Fisk’s next major storyline to fit it entirely within this narrow window.
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A second possibility is that the events of Born Again Season 2 happen during the timeframe of Thunderbolts*. If this is the case, the series must directly acknowledge the Void crisis. We could see Fisk leveraging the attack to consolidate power or push his anti-vigilante agenda further, blaming masked individuals for the chaos, or using the incident to justify harsher measures. Perhaps an episode could even depict main characters being caught in the Void’s darkness, forced to confront their own traumas, mirroring the experience of the Thunderbolts team.
Alternatively, Season 2 could begin after the main events of Thunderbolts*. In this scenario, the show would need to address the aftermath. Fisk would almost certainly have to comment on the Void incident and explain why the newly formed, government-sanctioned New Avengers, led by Yelena and overseen by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), are now operating in his city, potentially creating conflict with his own authority. The 14-month time jump shown in the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene provides a large window for Season 2’s story to unfold, allowing time to deal with the fallout and Fisk’s continued political maneuvering before the entire MCU is dragged into the mess of Avengers: Doomsday.
Thunderbolts* is now available in theaters. Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again comes to Disney+ in March 2026.
How do you think Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 will address the events of Thunderbolts*? Share your theories in the comments!
