Actress Deborah Ann Woll has opened up about how Netflix abruptly canceled the original Daredevil series.
Before Marvel Studios brought the MCU to the small screen on Disney+, fans had Marvel Television with select series airing on various networks, such as ABC, Hulu, and Netflix.
But among Agents of SHIELD, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Agent Carter, one of the most critically acclaimed was Netflix's Daredevil starring Charlie Cox.
While Charlie Cox and Kingpin's Vincent D'Onofrio have found new life in the MCU and are set to star in Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+, the Netflix cast hasn't forgotten how suddenly the original series was canceled.
Daredevil Actress Talks Netflix Cancellation
On the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, via Screen Rant, actress Deborah Ann Woll who played Daredevil's Karen Page pulled back the curtain on her experience with the show's cancellation in late 2018.
According to the actress, "the Marvel series feels unfinished" because it was canceled "when [the cast and crew] thought [they] were going to have more:"
“I would say no, partially because the Marvel series feel unfinished to me because we got canceled when we thought we were going to have more. There’s a part of me that was like, ‘I had more to say about Karen,’ and I felt I was in the middle of that story."
She went on to explain how this contrasts with her experiences with other series, sharing "[she] didn't get to say goodbye:"
Whereas True Blood, for all its ups and downs, and triumphs and flaws, we did get to wrap it up. I knew that we were wrapping it up, and I could say goodbye to everyone. I stole something from the set. I didn’t get to steal anything from our Daredevil set! I didn’t get to say goodbye to the crew because we all thought we were coming back. So that’s really what I would want back, and I wouldn’t have all of that back, obviously.”
As to whether she will have the chance to complete that story in a Marvel film or Disney+ series, Woll said, "they have not called me yet" but "I feel like I have more to say" in terms of Karen Page:
“I can say this: they have not called me yet. So as of now, I am not a part of it. I would be thrilled to get to be a part of it. They know where I am. Like I said, I love the character Karen Page. I love telling that story. I feel like I have more to say. But it is up to them what kind of story that they want to tell.”
When Rosenbaum noted that her former co-star, Charlie Cox, returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Woll proved that she's up to date with his MCU future:
“Well, they’ve already announced they’re doing a Daredevil series. That’s happening. They just have not contacted me about it."
Keeping it optimistic, Woll replied, “Maybe they will. That’s why I’m saying ‘yet,’ so they have not contacted me about it.”
Deborah Ann Woll wasn't the only one who thought Netflix's Daredevil was going to "have more."
Back in 2018, Daredevil co-executive producer Sam Ernst confessed that the show's Season 4 storylines were already written when Netflix pulled the plug.
In a Tweet, he touched on how "stunned" everyone was, comparing a lunch with the Daredevil writers to "a wake:"
"Had a last lunch yesterday with the Daredevil writers. Sushi provided by our Captain, @erikoleson. Marvel execs there too, just as stunned as we were. More than lunch, really: a wake. A show gets cancelled, all those characters we love die. Why I hate my job. Why I love it, too."
In addition, Daredevil star Amy Rutberg told Inverse that Season 4 was supposed to begin filming in 2019 and that the cancellation was not a Marvel decision, but "purely a Netflix decision:"
“My contacts at Marvel were very surprised,” Rutberg says. “Any of the rumors that it was a Marvel decision are wrong, I think it was purely a Netflix decision. That comes from personal conversations with people high up at Marvel. They were surprised.”
Will Karen Page Be Born Again on Disney+?
Clearly, Daredevil's cancellation wasn't just a shock to the cast but to everyone.
It's no wonder that Deborah Ann Woll feels like her character, as well as herself, never had closure; and from everyone's admissions, it sounds as if Marvel executives felt the same way.
That may be one of the reasons why Marvel Studios was set on bringing back Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio to continue their story.
The question now, as Michael Rosenbaum noted, is whether Marvel Studios intends to do the same for Woll and grant her that closure within the MCU.
But, if so, will she be the same Karen Page?
Despite having appeared in both No Way Home and She-Hulk, Marvel fans still don't know if Cox's Matt Murdock is the same or a Variant, or whether his Netflix series is canon at all.
Perhaps if Woll is cast in Born Again, fans will get a clearer picture of what Marvel Studios has in store.
In the meantime, hope remains that Woll and other members of the Netflix cast will get the chance to finally finish what they started.
Daredevil: Born Again is expected to release on Disney+ in 2024.
