April 2026 is an exciting time to be a fan of superhero television, as some of the genre's best franchises are set to release during this period. Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, the highly anticipated MCU Netflix crossover, faces direct competition from two of Prime Video’s biggest shows.
Disney+ confirmed that Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 premieres on March 24, 2026. The eight-episode season marks Marvel Studios’ largest Netflix crossover to date, with Krysten Ritter returning as Jessica Jones alongside Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk.
Prime Video counters with two powerhouse launches. Invincible Season 4 debuts on March 18, 2026, while The Boys Season 5, the final season, arrives on April 8, 2026. Following their established release patterns, Invincible typically launches with three episodes before switching to weekly drops. The Boys follows a similar structure with two-episode premieres, while Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 released new episodes every Tuesday on Disney+.
The release schedule creates a perfect storm for superhero content. All three shows will air new episodes simultaneously across several weeks in April 2026. Invincible Season 4 follows Prime Video’s standard weekly release model. The animated series runs for eight episodes, meaning its season finale lands around April 22, 2026, assuming the typical three-episode launch followed by five weekly installments.
The Boys Season 5 will release two episodes on April 8, 2026, with weekly episodes continuing until the series finale on May 20, 2026. The final season consists of eight episodes total. Since Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 begins on March 24, 2026, meaning new episodes will arrive throughout April. The season also runs for eight episodes, putting its finale sometime in mid-May if it maintains the weekly release pattern from Season 1.
The overlap becomes unavoidable around early April. Daredevil: Born Again enters its third or fourth episode window precisely when The Boys launches on April 8. Invincible will already be several episodes deep by then, creating a scenario in which all three series compete for viewers' attention simultaneously.
Disney+ Daredevil: Born Again Release Strategy Is Imperfect
Marvel Studios positioned Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 as its major Netflix crossover event for 2026. The show represents Disney+’s most significant integration of the former Netflix Marvel shows into the MCU proper.
Jessica Jones’ return marks the first time a Netflix Defenders character beyond Daredevil, Kingpin, and Punisher officially joins the MCU timeline. The second season also features Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page and Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson, despite Foggy’s death in the Season 1 premiere.
The timing creates an unfortunate situation for Marvel’s flagship Disney+ street-level series. The Boys Season 5 arrives as the most anticipated superhero television event of 2026. Eric Kripke’s satirical series concludes with its final season, promising an apocalyptic ending that will kill off major characters.
Invincible Season 4 introduces Grand Regent Thragg, voiced by Lee Pace, one of the most formidable villains from Robert Kirkman’s comic series. The animated show became Prime Video’s most-watched animation series of all time with Season 3, setting high expectations for its return.
Both Prime Video shows command massive, dedicated fanbases. The Boys consistently ranks among the most-watched streaming originals, while Invincible earned Emmy nominations and critical acclaim for its mature storytelling and brutal action sequences.
Streaming services typically avoid scheduling their biggest shows against each other. Marvel Studios and Disney+ likely calculated this release window well in advance, but the confluence of three major superhero series creates challenges.
Viewer attention becomes diluted when multiple high-profile shows air simultaneously. Superhero fans must choose which series to prioritize or spread their viewing across all three shows, potentially reducing engagement with any single title.
Online discourse compounds this problem. Social media conversations around new episodes drive viewership and cultural relevance. When three shows compete for that conversation, none dominates the way a standalone release might.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 premiered to 7.5 million views in its first five days on Disney+, making it the biggest Disney+ debut of 2025 at that time. The series earned an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising the character-driven storytelling and performances from Cox and D’Onofrio.
Season 2 aims to build on that momentum with higher stakes. Wilson Fisk, now serving as New York City’s mayor, hunts Matt Murdock while assembling an Anti-Vigilante Task Force. The season explores resistance against Fisk’s corrupt empire, as Murdock gathers allies to fight back.
Marvel Studios positioned the MCU Netflix crossover as a cornerstone of its 2026 Disney+ strategy. The company emphasized the historic nature of bringing back Jessica Jones and other Defenders characters. However, that message risks getting lost among the noise of The Boys’ final season and Invincible’s continued rise.
How Daredevil: Born Again Will Stand Out Amidst Stiff Competition
Despite the crowded release window, Daredevil: Born Again carries distinct advantages that separate it from its Prime Video competitors. The MCU Netflix crossover delivers something neither The Boys nor Invincible can offer: direct integration into the MCU. Jessica Jones’ arrival connects the show to Marvel’s larger narrative framework, giving it stakes beyond its own storyline. The series feeds directly into future MCU projects, making it essential viewing rather than optional entertainment.
Marvel Studios built anticipation for this Netflix crossover throughout 2025. Charlie Cox appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Echo. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin emerged as a major MCU threat across multiple projects. Season 2 pays off years of setup, rewarding fans who followed these characters from their Netflix origins to their MCU evolution.
The show also occupies different tonal territory. The Boys leans heavily into shock value and political satire. Invincible balances animated character drama with extreme violence. Daredevil: Born Again grounds itself in crime thriller territory, focusing on legal drama, street-level heroism, and character-driven conflict.
The series also benefits from Marvel’s unmatched marketing machinery. Disney promotes MCU content across multiple channels, from social media to theatrical releases. Daredevil: Born Again receives cross-promotion through Marvel’s entire ecosystem, ensuring visibility even in a competitive landscape.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
