Daredevil is an original series adaptation of the long-running comic book series, and the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's The Defenders franchise, followed up by Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Punisher. The series originally premiered on Netflix in 2015.
The show follows Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer with heightened senses, as he works alongside his office secretary Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and his best friend and law partner Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) to combat the criminal activities of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) in the courtroom and on the streets of Hell's Kitchen as the masked vigilante "Daredevil".
Rather fittingly, it was the first Netflix series to receive descriptive audio to enable blind people to follow along properly. It's also notable for being the first MCU property to break from the franchise's overall lighter tone, offering a Darker and Edgier take on the universe that hadn't yet been seen when it debuted in early 2015.
Daredevil was renewed for a second season a week after its debut, which premiered on March 18, 2016. It introduces two major characters from Marvel lore: Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), and Elektra Natchios (Élodie Yung). The near-unanimous praise for Bernthal's performance as Castle led to him getting his own spinoff show, The Punisher, released on November 17, 2017.
A third season of Daredevil was released on October 19, 2018, and introduces several more characters of Daredevil lore, including Wilson Bethel as Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter, Joanne Whalley as Sister Maggie, and Jay Ali as Ray Nadeem. A month after the third season dropped, Netflix announced they had officially canceled Daredevil, but claimed the character would "live on in future projects for Marvel" after a contractual hiatus.
In December 2021, Kevin Feige confirmed that Charlie Cox would reprise his role as Matt Murdock in any future MCU offerings from then on, starting with a brief cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home that same month as Peter Parker's lawyer, an episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law the following year then an appearance in Echo to fight the eponymous Anti-Hero. This was preceded by the reintroduction of Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin in the last two episodes of Hawkeye just a few days prior to No Way Home's release.
In February 2022, the series (alongside the rest of the Defenders franchise) was taken off Netflix and moved to Disney+ the next month, sparking rumors of a reboot/continuation under Marvel Studios. These plans were ultimately confirmed at San Diego Comic Con 2022, as a (then-planned) eighteen-episode series titled Daredevil Born Again, with Cox & D'Onofrio set to reprise their roles and Matt Corman & Chris Ord tapped as head writers. Originally scheduled to premiere in Spring 2024, the revival was interrupted mid-production by creative struggles and the 2023 SAG/WGA strikes, leading to some behind-the-scenes reshuffling. By early 2024, it was announced that Dario Scardapane (Jack Ryan, The Punisher) had taken over as the new showrunner, with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Moon Knight) hired as lead directors. In addition to the previously announced Jon Bernthal returning as Frank Castle/Punisher, the creative overhaul also brought back Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll as Foggy and Karen respectively, who were both originally not slated to reprise their roles. The series is now set to debut sometime in 2025.
Season 3 Teaser 1
, Season 3 Teaser Poster, Season 3 Teaser 2, Season 3 Trailer 1, Season 3 Wilson Fisk Featurette
As Daredevil is part of The Defenders, the second season sets up things in The Defenders, and The Defenders influences the plot of Daredevil season 3, spoilers from that series are included in some of the examples, and they are marked as such.
