Following Netflix's Daredevil Season 1, Marvel took away one specific aspect of Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock that was comic-accurate to his character's appearance. Originally coming to the streamer in 2015 before his true MCU infusion years later, Cox had the opportunity to give fans a thrilling take on the Man Without Fear as he operated in Hell's Kitchen.
Following Daredevil's first season on Netflix, Marvel stopped using Matt Murdock's comic-accurate red hair in Charlie Cox's portrayal. Season 1 Showrunner Steven DeKnight responded to a fan asking about Matt's hairdo and how it was adjusted later in the show's run, which was a challenge for some viewers to detect on a first viewing.
Taking to X, DeKnight complimented a fan for noticing Cox's hair being more red than it was in later seasons, noting that it was dyed to have "just a touch of red" in the right light:
"Good eye! In season 1, we dyed it so it would have just a touch of red when the lights hit just right."
Another X post from DeKnight indicated there were discussions about keeping his hair red moving forward after 2015. However, the idea was nixed in order to save on work for the production team and to keep Cox's hair from being damaged:
"Yes, but it would have been very hard on Charlie’s hair and a pain in the ass for production to maintain it."
DeKnight then answered a question about Daredevil's costume, as he was asked whether there was ever a discussion about making a version out of a softer fabric, like what was seen in the comics. That was said to have been on the table, but it ended up being more armored and hard-shelled to "stay in the grounded world" that had been established:
"We did! But ultimately felt it needed to be more armored to stay in the grounded world we had created."
The conversation then moved to the classic "DD" insignia usually seen on Daredevil's chest in the comics, which will finally be adapted in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.
He reminded fans that Matt Murdock was not called by his superhero name "until the very end of the finale" once the suit was already made, meaning the DDs did not fit into the story yet:
"In Season 1, he doesn’t get called Daredevil until the very end of the finale after the suit had already been made, so it didn’t make sense. I can’t speak towards subsequent seasons."
Finally, DeKnight enthusiastically said, "Probably!" when asked if Cox's hero would have gotten the DD chest imagery in Season 2 had he still been the showrunner for Netflix.
Although Daredevil has had plenty of different superhero suits over the years, his hair and other physical attributes have largely stayed consistent since his Netflix days.
Before Daredevil: Born Again, Cox's Matt Murdock made his live-action debut in Netflix's Daredevil series, which ran for three seasons on Netflix. Teaming up with Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page and Elden Henson's Foggy Nelson by day, he moonlights as a blind superhero, taking on epic villains like Kingpin and Bullseye.
All three seasons of Daredevil, along with Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, are streaming on Disney+.
Will MCU Fans Get More Comic-Accurate Daredevil?
Thankfully, outside of the change to get rid of Matt Murdock's classic red hair, Marvel has done its due diligence in bringing the character to life the right way. This includes his Catholic background, his red-tinted glasses, and even a yellow variant of his classic Daredevil suit that was seen in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Moving forward, this will continue to be the case as the story laid out in Netflix's Daredevil pushes into Season 2.
Part of that will be a brand-new black suit, which was brought to life in the "Shadowlands" storyline from the comics and will be adapted into live-action for Born Again. Along with the Kingpin's initiation of martial law over New York, the Shadowlands story is expected to be a heavy influence for Season 2, including the first-ever use of the DD on Matt's superhero suit.
While Daredevil's hair may always be slightly different from what fans know from the comics, the MCU has not taken many other shortcuts in bringing a comic-accurate take on Matt Murdock to the screen.
