#SaveDaredevil: Fans Rally To Get Charlie Cox In The MCU
Charlie Cox fans want him in the MCU proper, and the #SaveDaredevil campaign might just be working.
This article is more than 2 years old
Charlie Cox put an indelible stamp on the character of Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil during his tenure on the Daredevil series on Netflix. Fans have been hoping to hear that he will continue to play the part now that the rights for the character have lapsed for Netflix and have returned to Disney. And the campaign they have started – #SaveDaredevil – might actually be gaining some real traction.
The Twitter account RenewDaredevil was able to mobilize a strong number of Daredevil fans yesterday to get #SaveDaredevil to be one of the top trends on Twitter. The movement is fighting for Charlie Cox to remain in the lead role of Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil for any future projects with the character. Now that the rights for the character have finally come back to Disney, fans are worried that the House of Mouse might totally reboot the character with a new actor.
There is some explanation that has to accompany all this. The Charlie Cox Daredevil series – along with the other Netflix Marvel shows Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher, and The Defenders – were all being produced outside of the Disney outlet, Marvel Studios. They were made with the intention of being “mature, R-rated” type content with these particular Marvel characters. As such, there were a number of rules they had to abide by such as the inability to crossover with other prominent Marvel characters.
Once Netflix canceled all these shows and did not have any of them in active development for two years, the rights for all these characters would revert back to Disney who owns Marvel. Now, the Charlie Cox Daredevil show and all the other Netflix/Marvel shows did canonically take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they very rarely made direct connections to a lot of what went on in those movies. As such, they are a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but feel almost entirely disconnected from it.
So, would Disney keep Charlie Cox on as the Man Without Fear? Doing so would definitively put his take on Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. However, we know that there are going to be a lot of multiverse shenanigans coming up with Marvel projects like WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Could the Netflix version of Daredevil end up being a slightly retooled take on the character but with the same actor? Would fans be open to this kind of a retcon polish on Daredevil as long as he was still played by Charlie Cox? And what about other Daredevil actors like Vincent D’Onofrio? Would he be returning as Wilson Fisk a.k.a. Kingpin as well?
Most importantly, it is clear that there is a sizable group of people who want to see Charlie Cox remain as Daredevil. In what form that could take is unclear at this time, but Disney/Marvel has been very aware of how much his portrayal of Matt Murdock means to fans. If #SaveDaredevil does end up working and Cox gets to return as Daredevil in some form, you can bet there will be much rejoicing on the internet that day.
