Charlie Cox Wants The Best Daredevil Character Back With Marvel
Charlie Cox said there is only one Karen Page, an important part of Daredevil that won't be in the new series.
Daredevil actor Charlie Cox teased a crowd at GalaxyCon 2023, insinuating that he wants to see Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page return in Daredevil: Born Again. As reported by Comicbook.com, the Marvel star commented, “[I]f you’re a true Daredevil fan, I feel like there’s no escaping that there’s only one Karen Page.”
Actress Deborah Ann Woll starred alongside Charlie Cox as Karen Page during Netflix’s three-season run of Daredevil, which now streams on Disney+. Born Again is continuing with much of the same cast, including Vincent D’Onofrio as the Kingpin and Jon Bernthal as the Punisher, but it is being billed as a new series, not a fourth season of the Netflix show.
Absent from Born Again’s lineup is Woll as Karen Page and Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson. Karen and Foggy are staple comic book characters and key supporting characters in the Netflix series. Karen Page, specifically, was an instrumental piece of the Born Again storyline in the comic books, and, being a Daredevil fan, Charlie Cox is not letting that fact slip through the cracks.
The Born Again arc ran in 1986. It featured Karen Page down, out, and addicted to drugs. In desperation, she sold Matt Murdock’s identity as Daredevil, and the information was sold all the way up to the Kingpin. The Kingpin used the information to destroy Matt’s life from all angles, nearly killing him in the process.
Certain aspects of the storyline were already adapted to the screen in Daredevil’s third season, but there are plenty of stories left for the new series. As Charlie Cox put it, “I would like for Matt to continue exploring because there’s a lot of fun stories to tell still.”
How much the series will draw from the Born Again arc in the comics is unclear, as plot details for the series have remained tightly under wraps. The series received an 18-episode order for its first season, significantly more than any Marvel series up to this point. Plans for a second season are already underway.
Daredevil fans are skeptical of the new series; the return of Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio are encouraging signs, but even Cox seems to admit that things won’t be the same with Karen Page and, by extension, Foggy Nelson. Marvel’s plans for the show make the absence of Matt’s best friends even more puzzling.
The new series is set to feature a lot of Charlie Cox out of his Daredevil mask, leaning on Matt Murdock’s career as a lawyer. Cox has stated that there is plenty of interesting material to explore in Matt’s professional life and that understanding his day-to-day routine gives his time as Daredevil more impact and meaning.
Whatever Born Again has in store, Marvel seems to be confident in it, as a second season is already being developed. D’Onofrio teased that the series will deliver fans exactly what they want to see. Charlie Cox is also all in as Daredevil. In addition to his new series, the actor is adding to his list of cameos after appearances in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Charlie Cox will guest star in the upcoming Disney+ series Echo and will lend his voice as Daredevil to the animated series Spider-Man: Freshman Year. There are rumors that Daredevil and Spider-Man will meet again on the big screen to battle the Kingpin, but no confirmation has yet been made.
Charlie Cox is right: there is only one Karen Page. The exclusion of Karen and Foggy worries Daredevil fans, but with Cox on their side, the characters may still return as the series continues. Until then, Marvel will have to earn a lot of trust back to once again make Daredevil’s audience the fans without fear.
