The Daredevil: Born Again team seems to have a very specific plan for the Disney+ series' MCU crossovers that is bound to infuriate many fans. The 2025 freshman outing pulled characters from strange places in the MCU, such as Tony Dalton's Swordsman and Ms. Marvel's father, Yusuf Khan. This time around, Charlie Cox's Daredevil may require some superhero back-up to take down Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin and his anti-vigilante regime. Fortunately, the Man Without Fear will be aided by several other superheroes, including the long-awaited return of Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones.
Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane spoke with SFX Magazine and addressed his Disney+ series' potential to connect with other MCU projects. As Charlie Cox's Daredevil is based out of Hell's Kitchen, many are hopeful to see other New York-based heroes like Tom Holland's Spider-Man appear in Born Again Season 2, but Scardapane had a good reason why he won't.
Scardapane was clear that he would be "into" the idea of Born Again connecting with the wider MCU because he "[digs] the comics." However, he shut down the notion for now, noting that it has been a "fun and challenging" dilemma.
The Disney+ showrunner added that the "larger MCU of it all" is covered by Born Again's characters showing up in other projects, as opposed to heroes and villains from the wider world entering the street-level tale:
"We know there’s that huge world out there of the MCU. This corner of it has crossovers. We’ve seen Daredevil in other shows; there are other characters that are going to be popping up in movies and stuff, and that all goes into the larger MCU of it all."
Scardapane also justified why crossovers are so rare between Born Again's street-level characters and the wider MCU's larger-than-life New York heroes, such as Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and the New Avengers. He put it down to a regional split in the Big Apple, saying, "those guys are uptown, we're downtown:"
"The joke we make is, ‘Oh, those guys are uptown, we’re downtown!’ We kind of have a pocket that’s in this world of Hell’s Kitchen, in this world of New York."
Out of the MCU cohorde, most would agree Spider-Man would make the most sense to show up in Disney+'s Daredevil, but rights issues prevent him from appearing in a live-action TV series. Fortunately for those eager to see the two united, Spider-Man and Daredevil will meet on Disney+ this year.
The Born Again boss added that his group of heroes does "take little vacations into the larger world" occasionally, but their Disney+ story remains smaller-scale:
"I always think that maybe these characters take little vacations into the larger world, but the story that we’re focusing on is really granular."
Fans have seen a few of these "little vacations" recently, like when Charlie Cox's Daredevil took a trip to Los Angeles for She-Hulk, or that time Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin tried to ruin the holidays in Hawkeye, and Jon Bernthal's Punisher will be next up as he catches a flight into Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
In general, it sounds as if Scardapane's plan is for Hell's Kitchen to connect to the MCU in a rather one-sided way, with Daredevil and other major characters jumping into other projects without bringing back any stray Avengers to help in Born Again.
Daredevil: Born Again's MCU Crossover May Be Rather One-Sided
Marvel Studios seems adamant on keeping Daredevil: Born Again somewhat disconnected from the wider MCU, possibly to maintain the gritty street-level tone and realism. But that's not to say it will feel totally disconnected, as Born Again has been promised to impact Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
For the most part, Born Again's storyline will probably remain mostly self-contained, even if it is acknowledged outside the Disney+ series. After all, many of the Avengers could resolve most of Daredevil's problems overnight, so it makes sense if he is only aided by his fellow street-level vigilantes, like Jessica Jones.
The Disney+ series will soon face its greatest MCU connectivity challenge yet as Born Again Season 3 lands directly between two Avengers blockbusters. Based on Dario Scarapane's words, the Daredevil revival will likely swerve those Multiversal events to cling to his promise of a "granular" story, but that's not to say that Matt Murdock or Frank Castle couldn't take a "little vacation" into Secret Wars.
