Charlie Cox is in the midst of an exciting comeback in the superhero world, finally getting to reprise his role as Daredevil within the MCU. After his cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home and before his own new show in Daredevil: Born Again, Cox's Man Without Fear will suit up for an exciting appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
She-Hulk has been marketed as a half-hour legal comedy with Jennifer Walters taking her comedic prowess from the comics and bringing it to life in the MCU. This will even apply to Daredevil upon his first appearance in an MCU Disney+ outing, with head writer Jessica Gao confirming that this take on the character won't be nearly as dark as his Netflix counterpart.
While it's still unclear how many episodes Daredevil will appear in, this show will highlight a side of his character that wasn't a major focus in his Netflix show due to the Defenders Saga's darker nature as a whole. Now, a new interview has revealed how Cox himself reacted to this new challenge under the Marvel Studios umbrella.
Charlie Cox's Reaction to New MCU Daredevil
Speaking with Collider, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law head writer Jessica Gao discussed Charlie Cox's funnier take on Daredevil in her new Disney+ series.
When asked how they got Daredevil into the series, Gao admitted that his inclusion was "a dream that [they] dared not dream" with the way the hero's rights worked in relation to the MCU. Once the team found out that he was an option, ideas were immediately thought up for how he could be incorporated into the show as it moved further into development:
"Daredevil was a special case. Most of the time, what we do is mine the movies and the comics, and we pick a character we wanna use, then we think of what the best and funniest way is for us to use them, and then we ask Marvel, if we can have them. But Daredevil was a dream that we dared not dream. We were like, 'Oh, there’s no way. That’s not even on the table.' It never even crossed our minds. And then, we got wind, one day, that not only was he on the table, but Charlie Cox would be coming back as Daredevil, so we immediately started thinking of ways to incorporate him into our show. If we only had a snowball’s chance in hell of getting him on our show, it was still a chance, and we were gonna take it."
Cox demonstrated a "reverence and love" for his hero as he was tasked with portraying a "lighter" version of The Man Without Fear. According to Gao, Cox "was totally up for more" when it came to Murdock engaging in "funny" scenes and banter alongside Jen Walters, playing off the fact that they both make a living as lawyers in the MCU:
"He has such reverence and love for that character. It’s clear that the character meant so much to him, but he also came very game to play around. He was totally up for more funny banter and having this fun dynamic with Jen and She-Hulk. It really feels like the character from the comics. It was so fun because he really does fit into the show so perfectly. They’re both lawyers, and they’re both superheroes. Who else can say that they have that in common? It was just very fun thinking about what their dynamics would be, based on the personalities of these two characters."
How Will Daredevil Be Funnier?
The comedic nature of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will allow for various MCU characters to explore their funnier sides, particularly with She-Hulk leading the way and using her fourth-wall-breaking skills to guide the audience through the story. Daredevil won't be exempt from that either, as Cox gets to tap into some of the humor that he only got to show hints of during his Netflix show.
Netflix's Daredevil gave fans a few memorably funny moments with the Defender, from joking about how long he'd been a practicing lawyer after meeting Karen Page to guessing how many fingers Foggy Nelson was holding up. All of the new comedy has remained under wraps, with fans only getting a couple of short looks at Cox's hero in action through She-Hulk's promotional tour.
Even more exciting is that Cox was so open and willing to explore the funny side of his character, leaning into She-Hulk's comedic themes as he builds a new relationship with another one of Marvel's prominent lawyers. This could also give She-Hulk a hilarious opportunity to set the record straight on Daredevil's canon status, but only time will tell if that becomes a reality.
Episode 1 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is now streaming on Disney+.
