Over the last year, ever since Cox's return in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Kingpin in Hawkeye, the question of whether Netflix's Daredevil is canon has plagued the online conversation. Is this the same Matt Murdock who fans followed for years, or is it a slightly different Variant—given all of the Multiverse shenanigans?
Sadly, as of now, there's no proper answer. However, there have been plenty of comments regarding the controversial topic.
Charlie Cox has previously noted how he feels like the upcoming Disney+ show Daredevil: Born Again is a "whole new deal." He also pointed out that, while he hasn't read any scripts yet, "there are going to be some consistencies... [and] some differences."
On the other hand, D'Onofrio has made statements saying that he played Kingpin in Hawkeye the same way he did for the Netflix show. This led to fans interpreting his words differently; is he simply doing the same performance from an acting perspective, or is it literally identical on even a continuity level?
It's a confusing topic that few people seem to have any definitive answer to. Now, fans can add Kat Coiro to the list of creatives pointing their fingers at Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to answer that infamous question.
Daredevil, Canon or Not?
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter (THR), She-Hulk: Attorney at Law director Kat Coiro was asked the big controversial Daredevil question that has everyone talking: Is the version of Daredevil seen on the new MCU series the same exact person from the former Netflix show?
Unsurprisingly, Coiro refused to answer and pointed to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, saying that "[she'll] leave that [for him]" to answer:
THR: "You played Matt’s Daredevil theme song, you recreated some of his moves, and you also paid homage to his past hallway fight sequences. So is it the same guy just on a new trajectory?"
Coiro: "(Laughs.) I will neither confirm nor deny. I leave that to Kevin, but I will say that my cinematographer and I paid great attention to [Daredevil’s] hallway fights because they’re such an iconic part of the Daredevil that everybody loves. However it plays out in the long run, we had to honor where the character is coming from. It’s funny, there’s so much talk about the color of the suit, and to me, that’s the genius of introducing a character like the tailor [Griffin Matthews’ Luke Jacobson] because then you see that this is a human being who has to order his super suit. So there can be many variations of that suit, and while the ketchup and mustard pays respects to the comics, there could be other suits moving forward because now we’ve got a tailor to make them."
When asked if the director knew Tatiana Maslany's chemistry would be as great with Charlie Cox as it was with Mark Ruffalo, Coiro noted that the actress "has good chemistry with everybody:"
"I mean, Tatiana has good chemistry with everybody, but her and Charlie are very different from her and Mark, which felt very much like brother and sister. So I thought their chemistry was electric. We also got a lot of help in that episode from our editor Jamie [Gross], who is the world’s biggest Daredevil fan. She is kind of in love with Daredevil and really added an extra layer of magic to the episode, because of her deep appreciation for that character and for the ability to see those two characters in a romantic setting."
But did the director enjoy filming Charlie Cox's walk of shame? According to Coiro, "that was one of [her] favorite things to film:"
"That was one of my favorite things to film. We tried so many different variations and what ended up playing the best was the most simple version. It’s just him walking, holding part of the costume. It tells the story without much embellishment, which I love."
Daredevil's Frustrating Canonicity
Many fans will claim the answer to Daredevil's canonicity has already been confirmed multiple times. However, that's simply not true—no matter how much one may want it to be.
It seems like it'll be up to Kevin Feige to finally give fans the answer they desire. Though, who knows when he might actually address it.
Maybe Cox's appearance in Echo could provide some new information; if not, then audiences may have to wait until Daredevil: Born Again lands. It would be hard to imagine that the hero's eighteen-episode streaming show wouldn't provide enough information to properly solve the issue.
It is strange to see how everyone seems to avoid answering the questions, and when they do, never give anything concrete. One would think that if it is, in fact, canon, then there shouldn't be any issues just coming out and saying so.
Maybe the avoidance is an answer in and of itself?
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is now streaming on Disney+, while Born Again is aiming for a Spring 2024 debut.
