Spider-Man: No Way Home surprised everyone when Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock appeared to help sort out the legal troubles of Tom Holland's Peter Parker. Although the cameo was brief, many fans have been speculating on whether a future team-up between the two heroes will eventually happen now that Daredevil is firmly in the MCU.
One possible entry point for a Daredevil and Spider-Man team-up that many have campaigned for is on the former's Disney+ series, Daredevil: Born Again. Holland even expressed hope for that potential partnership, saying that he is interested in "[finding] a way for Spider-Man and Daredevil to team up again" in the future.
Even though the current Marvel-Sony deal prevents a small-screen team-up from happening, another way for New York's iconic heroes to be featured together is through the big screen, potentially in Spider-Man 4.
And now, a new wave of rumors has doubled down on this possibility.
Spider-Man 4 Has a Street-Level Storyline
Following the report of Spider-Man 4's July 2024 release date, The Cosmic Circus also revealed that the upcoming Tom Holland-led movie has a "street-level story" that could explore the aftermath of the events of Daredevil: Born Again.
Having Daredevil and Kingpin both appear in Spider-Man 4 is an exciting prospect, and there's previous evidence that this may be the case.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige already teased that "Spidey [is] going into the street level heroes," clearly indicating that he will focus on protecting New York City rather than the world (and the Multiverse) in his next outing.
This would put him in potential encounters with the aforementioned characters alongside other Defenders like Jessica Jones and the Punisher.
However, there are glaring problems in terms of connecting Born Again to Spider-Man 4.
Given that Daredevil's Disney+ series is expected to be in production for nearly all of 2023, this timeline would make it hard or even impossible for Cox and D'Onofrio to film their respective roles in Spider-Man 4.
Moreover, the gap between the end of Daredevil: Born Again and the July 2024 release of Spider-Man 4 in July is small.
If the rumor is true that the events of the Disney+ series are connected to Spider-Man's next outing, then Marvel and Disney would have to premiere all episodes of Born Again uninterrupted right at the beginning of Spring in 2024, assuming that a weekly release is only one episode.
It's possible that Born Again would take a similar approach to Andor where the Star Wars series released three episodes right off the bat.
Predicting Daredevil and Kingpin's Roles in Spider-Man 4's Story
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law proved that a team-up with Daredevil is an exciting prospect, and the same could be true for Tom Holland's web-slinger. While the fact that it's a street-level story could mean that it's smaller in scale (potentially constrained in New York), it's clear that real stakes are involved.
One way for Spider-Man 4 and Daredevil: Born Again to up the ante is to make Kingpin a dominant threat while also establishing his power in a unique way. In Marvel Comics, Wilson Fisk did this by becoming the Mayor of New York City, thus virtually making him untouchable.
There is already a rumor that the MCU's Kingpin is in a prime position to take over as Mayor of New York. As reported by the Weekly Planet Podcast, Fisk is rumored to be pursuing a mayoral campaign in the Echo Disney+ series.
It is unknown if Fisk will win the mayoral election of New York fair and square, but there's reason to believe that his hunger for power would mean that something nefarious will need to happen before his takeover of the city.
In fact, as soon as Fisk took office as Mayor of New York in the comics, the villain managed to outlaw all vigilante activities, with him even putting a warrant out for Daredevil's arrest.
Born Again could end with Fisk as Mayor of New York, with him placing his own version of the Sokovia Accords in the city alone to wipe out his potential enemies, such as Spider-Man. As a result, Spider-Man 4 could explore the ramifications of that law.
The fourth movie could even begin with Daredevil behind bars, and it's up to Spider-Man to help him escape so that they can team up to fight Kingpin.
There's also a chance that Season 3 of Netflix's Daredevil is not canon to the MCU, meaning that Fisk still doesn't know that Matt Murdock is the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Doing this would allow Murdock to get a job in the mayor's office (in the comics, he served as deputy mayor) to bring down Fisk from the inside, with Spider-Man fighting his battles on the outside.
Whatever the case, a Spider-Man and Daredevil team-up has been a long time coming, and it would be fitting if this partnership will be explored on the big screen.
Spider-Man 4 is rumored to premiere in theaters on July 12, 2024.
