She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is only days away from its debut on Disney+, and it's set to reintroduce Charlie Cox's Daredevil after his surprise appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But even as exciting as this inclusion is for Marvel's developing story, there's still one mystery that remains unsolved - are Daredevil's Netflix adventures officially MCU canon?
This question has popped up once more thanks to She-Hulk's promotional material revealing a brand-new red-and-yellow suit for Daredevil, which pays homage to one of his original looks from the comics. This is a costume that's never been used in a live-action format before, and with its differences from Cox's Netflix suit, his first three seasons of work once again come back into the debate of canon vs. not canon.
Although this series has the best opportunity yet to answer this long-standing question of what is and isn't in the MCU, it remains as passionate of a debate as any within the MCU fandom. That continues less than a week before She-Hulk's premiere, with passionate arguments coming from both sides of the debate.
MCU Daredevil - To Canon? Or Not to Canon?
In response to Charlie Cox's new yellow Daredevil suit in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, fans have re-engaged in the debate about what this means for the canonicity of the actor's work in Netflix's Daredevil on Twitter.
@Liran_idk is convinced that the suit is the same one from the Netflix series, also noting that the use of both Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin lends to the show being MCU canon. He also sees the MCU's Daredevil: Born Again series as something that implies "a continuation of the OG show:"
">Same actors for Matt and Fisk
>Same suit for Matt
> MCU references in the og show, including a newspaper with 'Battle of New York' written on it
>The title 'Daredevil: Born Again' implying a continuation of the og showIt's canon"
@Mag_X3 also noted how many references to the MCU were in Daredevil, including the Battle of New York from 2012's The Avengers:
"The netflix marvel shows had a lot of references to the heroes in the mcu….and the events like the battle in 2012, which means that everything was canon and that the defenders were already in the 616 universe, so maybe we see them cameo in she hulk or daredevil born again"
@J0SHC0RE sees this new suit as being the same one that fans saw in Daredevil, "but recolored," passionately stating that the shows from Marvel TV are canon with the MCU:
"daredevil was also not made by marvel studios but yet its getting a sequel series and he has the same exact suit but recolored (they alr auctioned the original suit)
marvel tv is canon so deal with it"
@Pollos_Hernandy is convinced that most fans wouldn't believe that Daredevil is canon with the MCU even if Daredevil: Born Again starts with a montage titled "Previously on Daredevil:"
"Born Again could start with “Previously on Daredevil” and these pages will still claim the first show isn’t canon lol"
@DeadpoolLIFE69 sees a hint of the red paint on Daredevil's helmet being somewhat faded rather than it being a brand-new helmet altogether, indicating to them that the Netflix show took place prior within the MCU:
"I noticed earlier that the red pain on his helmet is fading, it's not just a new costume. Daredevil is definitely canon"
But as passionate as that side of the debate is, there are just as many fans who strongly feel that this is a new take on Daredevil that's played by the same actor.
@jo_dodig sees this version of Cox's Man Without Fear as a different version of the hero with a "different suit and story" than the one in the Defenders Saga:
"This literally confirms Daredevil isn't canon. Same actor but different suit and story. They'll say Netflix show is a different universe."
@JessePena108 is open to the idea of Matt having adjusted his suit to let people know he isn't Bullseye after the villain stole and used the Daredevil suit in Season 3 of the Netflix show. While they don't think this is the "canon explanation," they still think it's a cool idea:
"I really like the idea of Matt adding yellow to his suit so people know that he's not the same killer that Bullseye was when he wore the Daredevil suit in season 3. It's most likely not the canon explanation but I wish it was because it's pretty cool to think about She-Hulk"
@hotdogmed doesn't see this Daredevil as being the same one from Netflix, mostly due to the fact that Mahershala Ali is in both universes, playing Cottonmouth in Netflix's Luke Cage and leading the way in 2023's Blade:
"I don’t think he’s the same Daredevil from Netflix, especially when Blade looks like Cottonmouth. If Fiege cares about Canon, he’s probably hit the reset button for 616 (MCU) canon. Also allows for the writing to not be bogged down by Netflix continuity."
@gregtyrty is firmly on the "non-canon" side of the debate, as they don't see the entire Defenders Saga being officially canon with the MCU yet:
"Absolutely not confirmed to be the same one from 616 considering the only time we’ve seen daredevil was the defenders saga in which that isn’t officially canon and could take part in a different universe"
@FairlyDoubtful responded to another tweet referencing an interview with Kingpin star Vincent D'Onofrio, where they believed he confirmed that his Kingpin from Daredevil was MCU canon.
This Twitter user noted that D'Onofrio said he "would treat it that way unless told otherwise" and that nobody will know for sure until more material with those characters arrives within the MCU:
"He didn't say that exactly, he said he would treat it that way unless told otherwise, we simply won't know until the show is out, I hope to be proven wrong but I have a feeling it won't be canon to the original show to establish a different actual MCU Daredevil, we'll see"
When Will Daredevil Canon Debate Be Resolved?
Since Marvel Studios began using characters from the Netflix shows, the question of their canonicity is one that's come up often with not much resolution.
While Vincent D'Onofrio approached his own role the same for Hawkeye as he did for Daredevil, the archer's directing duo Bert & Bertie avoided touching the topic altogether. And although She-Hulk has a great opportunity to give more clarity to this mystery, whether it canonizes or de-canonizes the Netflix stories, this Daredevil suit doesn't offer any answers to the question yet.
At the moment, the only rumors regarding Daredevil's role in She-Hulk are that it will be something "different" from his Netflix shows, but that didn't indicate whether it would be a continuation of his story from the Netflix outing. When the Man Without Fear does show up during this next Disney+ outing, the hope is that the long-standing mystery will be solved, but there is still some waiting that remains for that answer.
Charlie Cox's Daredevil will return in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which begins streaming on Thursday, August 18.
