Netflix Daredevil is still in the MCU, as Charlie Cox reprised his role as Matt Murdock in the MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and as Matt Murdock and Daredevil in the MCU TV series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). Also, Vincent D'Onofrio reprised his role as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin in the MCU TV series, Hawkeye (2021).
Cox and D'Onofrio will again reprise their roles in the Phase 5 MCU TV series Echo (2023) and Daredevil: Born Again (2024). Cox will voice Daredevil in the animated TV series Spider-Man: Freshman Year (2024).
Jon Bernthal will also join the cast of Daredevil: Born Again and reprise his role as Frank Castle / the Punisher, a character he first portrayed in Netflix Daredevil Season 2 before playing the lead in his own Netflix TV series, The Punisher.
Jennifer Walters has finally met her match in Matt Murdock. While the character was teased earlier in the season, he’s finally reintroduced to audiences in Episode 8 of Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk — and he’s very much the same Matt Murdock audiences have come to know and love over the years, once again played by Charlie Cox returning to the role.
“Knowing that Charlie was taking this character on again and that we got to reintroduce him through this show, the dynamic between him and Jen is so, so special,” Star Tatiana Maslany explains to Marvel.com.
- ‘She-Hulk’: Bringing Matt Murdock into Jen Walters' Life — Marvel.com
Vincent D'Onofrio has said that he played the same character in Daredevil and Hawkeye, and that "there are [as] many dots connected as we can possibly connect."
Many fans have long debated whether Marvel Television’s Defenders-centric shows are actually MCU canon and, given Fisk’s new status, some may assume this is a “variant” of the antagonist. However, when I spoke with Vincent D’Onofrio, he provided a clear answer as to whether this is the exact antagonist from the original series:
It’s the same character. Yeah, I mean, the way that we saw it on Hawkeye, or [what] I ended up believing, is that there are [as] many dots connected as we can possibly connect, and some are just impossible to connect. But I think… it's the same as a lot of the MCU stuff that's done, that [Marvel Studios head] Kevin [Feige] does, and all the incredible filmmakers, you know, they try to connect to the original stuff as much as they can. … But then there's dots that can't be connected. And I think we tried to do the same thing with connecting Daredevil to… or Hawkeye to Daredevil and Daredevil to Hawkeye. You know, it's like that.
So worry not, fans, this version of New York’s biggest crime boss is meant to be the same one you first met back in 2015.
Source: Hawkeye’s Vincent D’Onofrio Explains MCU Kingpin’s Daredevil Connections — Cinemablend
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant for the new series, D'Onofrio opened up about his Kingpin return in Hawkeye. When asked whether the Disney+ series exists separate from Netflix's Daredevil, the star confirmed that both versions of the Kingpin are the same and explained how Marvel connected the dots between them. See what D'Onofrio said below:
"I think from my point of view, like a lot of the Avengers stuff, a lot of the MCU stuff, they tried to connect as many dots to the original canon as they can, and some dots are just not possible to connect. And that's what we've done with connecting to Daredevil and vice versa. There's some dots [that] are connected. Like in the Hawkeye show, Fisk is obviously physically stronger and can take more physical abuse. But the key to his being an interesting character, in my mind, will always be the fact that he has this emotional life that grounds him, that makes everything work, as far as I'm concerned.
We can sell that character in so many facets. Story-wise we can sell it, if we keep him based in that emotional life. And I know that the writers, and the producers, and me, and everybody involved in the Hawkeye show, we were all on the same page about that. I have to say that they're very collaborative people and – not only to mention awesome people, very nice – but the producers, like I said, the writers and the directors were all just thrilled to work with so we kept along those lines. And I think that's what will continue to make the character interesting if there's anything next for me to do."
Source: Hawkeye & Daredevil's Kingpin Are The Same, Confirms Vincent D'Onofrio — Screen Rant
D'Onofrio also mentions what has changed with Fisk since his last appearance in Daredevil:
The comic book behemoth is also a bit more power-hungry now within the world of Hawkeye, and as Vincent D’Onofrio explained, there’s actually a specific reason for this within his MCU arc:
It was always established to me that it's after the Blip and that he has lost the power that he had in Daredevil, and he wants it back. … In Hawkeye, he considers that he's lost a bit of the control of his city, and he wants his city back.
Source: Hawkeye’s Vincent D’Onofrio Explains MCU Kingpin’s Daredevil Connections — Cinemablend
What does the casting of Ali as Blade implies?
I don't think it implies that Luke Cage is not in the MCU anymore, considering that Gemma Chan was cast as two different, unrelated characters in two different MCU films (Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel and Sersi in Eternals). Ali's casting as Blade is similar.
