Summary
One of theDaredevilstars shared their running gag about being a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It turned out that they previously felt they were not part of the family.
Marvel Studioshas introduced several characters to theMCU. However, not everyone has the same exposure and some haven’t appeared on the big screen yet. The most popular names are the originalAvengerslike Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). One MCU star shared how they truly felt before appearing in a Marvel movie.
Charlie Cox, who reprised his role as Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, in Disney Plus’Daredevil: Born Again, sat down with fellow MCU star Joe Locke for Variety’s Actors on Actors. Locke debuted in the MCU asBilly Maximoff, aka Wiccan, onAgatha All Along. The pair discussed their journey in the MCU, with Locke asking Cox if they felt “slightly outsiders” of the franchise when they were doing the originalDaredevilonNetflix. Locke probably asked the question because the original series was produced by Marvel Television, a different studio from Marvel Studios, but was theoretically set in the MCU. However, it was largely independent and had no crossover from major MCU characters. Cox admitted that they felt like outsiders and would even joke about it. “We always used to joke about feeling like we’re the stepkids,” Cox shared. When asked whether he feels that he is now part of the family, Cox gave an affirmative response.
It does. It feels a little bit more like we’re a part of the fam. I’m not on social media, so I don’t really follow this conversation, but I know from other castmates that it’s important to the fan base that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all connected. So there was a lot of pleasure from the fans that the previous show was considered canon.
In the same conversation, Cox recounted his return to the MCU. Cox appeared in the originalDaredevilseries that streamed on Netflix from 2015 to 2018. However, the streaming giant canceled the show after three seasons. Disney regained full rights toDaredevilin March 2022, and the new series,Daredevil: Born Again, a continuation of Netflix’s original series, launched earlier this year on Disney Plus. According to Cox, he received a call from the Marvel Studios President,Kevin Feige, in the “middle of COVID” asking him if he wanted to come back and reprise hisDaredevilrole. It had been at least two years since he heard from anyone from Marvel at the time and Feige wasn’t involved in the original series. He was blown away by the offer but didn’t hear back from him in the next three months, which made him question if the call was real. “That sounds so Marvel,” Locke quipped. Apparently, Feige waited for two years before contacting him because there was an embargo and Cox wasn’t aware of it.
Cox feeling like he is officially a member of the MCU is great news because he is. In 2021, he appeared inTom Holland’sSpider-Man: No Way Home,one of MCU’s biggest movies. In the film, he is introduced as Murdock, a blind lawyer who serves as Peter Parker’s legal counsel. Peter faces legal trouble after his identity as Spider-Man was revealed. Murdock confidently tells Peter that he will not get any charges and impresses the young superhero when he catches a brick thrown through the apartment window in mid-air with his lightning-fast reflexes. Although Cox’s vigilante identity isn’t shown in the film, his brief scene hints about his superhuman reflexes. Aside from appearing in aSpider-Manmovie, Cox’s Daredevil appeared in other MCU projects, includingShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law(2022) andEcho(2024). This only shows thatDaredevilis really part of the MCU, so Cox is right that he is now part of the MCU family.
