Daredevil MCU Crossovers Unlikely, Says 'Born Again' Creator

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an extensive network of narrative threads and overlapping storylines that has resulted in the largest ongoing film and television franchise ever created. Although this is expected to keep expanding for many more years, Marvel Studios has recently started exploring territories that are not as closely tied to the broader universe.MCU. One example of a series is Daredevil: Born Again, and for showrunner Dario Scardapane, fans should not anticipate the show's standalone status to change in the coming years.

Daredevil's comeback on screen took a long time. Following the end of Netflix Marvel series such asDaredevil and Jessica Jones, doubts about what would happen to those characters remained unresolved for several years until Charlie Cox made an appearance with Peter Parker inSpider-Man: No Way Homewith a guest appearance as Matt Murdock, and Vincent D'Onofrio returned to his role as Kingpin inHawkeye. Now, five years later, a second season of the Disney+ seriesDaredevil: Born Againis approaching, and although the show isexpanding to have Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones return, there are currently no intentions for the series to integrate into the main MCU narrative.

Speaking to SFX Magazine, Scardapane stated that although he would enjoy the notion of Thor or Captain America visiting Hell's Kitchen, it's simply not going to occur. He mentioned:

I'd be interested in it because I really like the comics! But no... That's been a fun and challenging aspect. We're aware of the vast universe of the MCU. This part of it involves crossovers. We've seen Daredevil in other shows, and there are other characters who will appear in movies and more, all contributing to the overall MCU. The joke we often make is, 'Oh, those guys are uptown – we're downtown!' We have our own space within this world of Hell's Kitchen and New York. I always imagine that these characters might take small trips into the bigger universe, but the story we're focusing on is very detailed and specific.

'Daredevil: Born Again' Faces Additional Challenges with Crossovers

Although Marvel Comics has united numerous characters from entirely separate universes, each with their own set of characters and other franchises, the comic book realm is significantly different from Hollywood and the legally enforceable agreements formed in the past. This presents one of the biggest challenges for many potentially massive film and television projects, and has ultimately hindered the realization of some exceptional narratives.

In its early days, Marvel Studios collaborated with various distributors to start the path that would ultimately result in one of the most successful films ever made and a multi-million dollar Disney business. This has caused complications regarding when and where certain characters can be featured in Marvel films, with the Hulk being a key example. Sony's control over Spider-Man has also been a challenge, and this factor plays a role inthe reason it's nearly impossible for Daredevil crossovers to happen.

Spider-Man is the character most likely to encounter Daredevil and Kingpin. However, the intricate agreements with Sony prevent Spider-Man from appearing in a Marvel Studios live-action TV series such asBorn Again, and a character like Kingpin cannot be featured in aMarvel Studios movie like Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Naturally, this could all be different if the two sides joined forces and revised their agreements, but that doesn't always lead to positive outcomes.

For the time being, Daredevil and the tales of Hell's Kitchen seem set to remain limited to a specific number of television series. Hopefully, in the future, the rights and copyright matters related to Marvel characters will be resolved in a manner that allows the most compelling stories to reach the screen for the fans who sustain the entire vision by attending either in theaters or through streaming services.