It's a well known fact that Marvel Studios is about to make a major comeback in the entertainment industry after being forced to delay their entire slate of releases in 2020. 2021 alone will bring six new Disney+ shows and four new movies introducing dozens of new heroes to the franchise, and it will be the same situation for 2022 and beyond as well.
One exciting fact about the MCU's future is that the team will finally get to use heroes that were formerly owned by 20th Century Fox , most notably, iconic characters from the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. Even considering the overwhelming amount of new material Marvel Studios will be able to use, the studio still has the "black sheep" situation with the Netflix-based Defenders heroes.
This was something that Marvel's top man addressed in a recent interview, sort of.
NEWS
During the recent WandaVision press junket event, via Collider , Marvel CCO Kevin Feige tackled the question of if The Defenders and the individual Marvel Netflix shows were canon, or if they existed in something like an alternate universe.
"I look at anything that's happened before, whether it's our movies, whether it's Marvel entertainment TV series, in particular, obviously the comics, video games, cartoons, all of it is available as inspiration for the future of Marvel. That's the way that comics have worked for many years. So, we'll see."
After the interviewer mentioned that fans loved Daredevil star Charlie Cox in the lead role and would love to see him return, Feige just looked to the camera and smiled, not saying a word on the subject.
WHAT THIS MEANS
The Netflix shows from Marvel TV have always been a mystery relating to the greater MCU, especially since it's so unclear whether they are canon and connected with the rest of the movies that released alongside them. Kevin Feige has never flat-out confirmed one way or another if they are part of the story, but there are indications in the shows that could push the verdict in either direction.
This is especially intriguing with the recent rumors that Charlie Cox would reprise his role as Daredevil in Marvel and Sony's upcoming Spider-Man 3 , which hasn't officially been confirmed by either studio. Should this come to fruition, it's still unknown whether it would be a new Daredevil or the same one from the Netflix shows, but it's clear that these series will not be forgotten even as the MCU expands into more movies and Disney+ shows.
It will likely be some time before any news on the Neftlix shows' connection with the greater MCU becomes official one way or the other , but it will be something the fandom keeps its eye on.
