Daredevil: Born Again has once again been confirmed to make history with the arrival of a beloved character from the MCU movies.
Thus far, in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, the connections to the greater Marvel Studios canon have been there, but not overtly by any means.
Instead of outright character cameos or super-powered team-ups, audiences have gotten slight nods to their favorite characters (including setting up yet another Young Avenger).
MCU Movie Character Coming for Daredevil: Born Again
In a recent interview with Geekcentric, Daredevil: Born Again executive producers Sana Amanat and Dario Scardapane teased the arrival of a fan-favorite MCU character at some point in the series, which will mark a historic moment for the franchise.
When asked about blending Born Again's dark and gritty tone with what tends to be the more light-hearted feeling of other MCU projects, Amanat brought up The Marvels actor Mohan Kapur, who is set to appear as his Marvel Studios character, Yusuf Khan, in the streaming show.
Kapur will make history with his Daredevil appearance, marking the first time an MCU character has shown up in the series after previously appearing in a Marvel Studios movie.
"I think that was actually a really fun challenge," Amanat pondered about including the character, pointing to Mr. Khan as an example of how the blending of styles can work:
"Yeah, I think that was actually a really fun challenge because, for me personally, I love the different types of tones and genres we play with. I went from working on the 'Captain Marvel' comics to working on the 'Daredevil' comics. So, I am very familiar with switching very comfortably, and I was so excited to join ‘Daredevil’ when I did. And I think with someone like Yusuf Khan, it was just how do you tone him in a way that works within the world of this show but also doesn’t take away the fun and warmth that that character brings."
She would not disclose when Kapur's head of the Kahn family (from which Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel hails) will pop up in Born Again Season 1, but her comments serve as reassurance that an MCU movie character is coming to make history on the show
Amanat added that she thinks the Marvel comics do this 'different tones in the same universe' maneuver super well. So, for the big and small screen, it is just a matter of "[finding] a way to bring [outside characters] into the world and the feeling of Daredevil:"
"A good example for me is the character Daniel, played by Michael Gandolfini. I think he has a bit of that charm and edge that is sort of classic MCU which feels maybe a touch light-hearted, but I feel like it blends really nicely into our world. So, that is kind of what we think about, we don’t want to change our characters by any means, but we have to find a way to bring them into the world and the feeling of 'Daredevil.' So, I think we did a pretty good job. We do it in the comics all the time, so I feel like it is pretty organic to do it here too."
Kapur's involvement in the series dates back years at this point. His role in the series first came into the public eye after the series's first meaningful showing at 2024's D23 fan event.
During that show, Born Again footage featuring the Ms. Marvel and The Marvels star was shown to the crowd, but how extensive his role or how he gets involved in the show's R-rated story remains to be seen (read more about the unreleased D23 Daredevil: Born Again footage here).
Who Else Could Appear in Daredevil: Born Again?
While it is exciting that Mohan Kapur's Yusuf Khan will pop up in Daredevil: Born Again, he could be just the tip of the iceberg for potential MCU cameos coming to the series.
There are plenty of Marvel heroes that, either full-time or part-time, call New York City (the metropolitan setting that Born Again uses as its backdrop) home.
Of course, the biggest name that will come up in conversations is Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man). Daredevil and Marvel's teenage web-head have long had a history of team-ups in the comics, but his inclusion in the series seems unlikely.
Spidey has been referenced in the show already, with an off-handed comment about the wall-crawler being made by Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin; however, the odds of a full-on cameo are pretty low.
Marvel is still unable to use Spider-Man in any live-action TV series thanks to the rights to the character still belonging to Sony Pictures.
Marvel Studios has been able to use the character in live-action films thanks to a partnership with Sony and owns the TV animation rights to the character outright. But the use of Spider-Man in live-action television remains wholly under Sony's purview, meaning a Born Again appearance is almost surely a no-go.
The other character that could be on the list, especially given the fact that her on-screen father will appear in the series, is Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel.
Of course, tonally, this would be a challenge, given the character's more light-hearted fare. But as Amanat said, they love a challenge, and it is just a matter of making the character work/make sense in the world of Daredevil.
Daredevil: Born Again continues with new episodes dropping every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+.
