Fans out there clamouring for Jon Bernthal's Punisher return might finally be about to get their wish. Earlier this week, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige acknowledged the Marvel Netflix shows in a big way, confirming that Charlie Cox would be the MCU's one and only Daredevil going forward.
"If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil," Feige told CinemaBlend last week. "Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen."
For those who aren't aware why this is a huge deal, allow me to explain. Cox played Daredevil in the Netflix show of the same name for three seasons as part of a partnership between Marvel and the streaming giant to produce a handful of interconnected series based on the "street-level" heroes of the MCU. In addition to Daredevil, we got shows based on Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher.
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These shows were all much grittier, violent, and grown-up than anything Marvel was putting out on the big screen. And while the idea was always supposed to be that Daredevil existed in the same universe as Iron Man and the Avengers, it was never really a thing because of alleged bad blood between Marvel Television and Marvel Studios.
Marvel Television fell under the full control of Marvel Studios in 2019, and it was announced that the company would not be moving forward with future Netflix shows. While it was stressed that Daredevil and friends would return in some capacity, the fear from fans was that Marvel Studios would rather start again with a complete clean slate rather than bring back the Netflix actors and continue their storylines.
The Charlie Cox news, then, is the first confirmation that Marvel Studios intends to honour the Netflix shows. While it's unclear whether or not everything that happened in those three seasons of Daredevil will be "canon" in the MCU, Cox's casting gives us a pretty good indication that it will be.
It also gives us hope that when the MCU inevitably brings back other Netflix heroes, it'll be with the actors who originally portrayed them. This means that the excellent Jon Bernthal, who appeared in season two of Daredevil and one season of his own spinoff, is almost certainly set to return at some point.
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We already know that Bernthal wants another shot at Punisher, and that the fans want him to do it. The only question now, is when it might happen.
Featured Image Credit: Marvel Studios