Charlie Cox Thought He’d Never Play Daredevil Again Before Joining MCU

Charlie Cox reveals that, before joining the MCU, he was convinced he would never play Daredevil ever again. First hitting Netflix in 2015, Daredevil introduced audiences to Cox’s take on the blind superhero/lawyer, coming more than 10 years after Ben Affleck’s critically-reviled Daredevil film. The new series was a big hit, with fans and critics alike praising Cox’s performance and his character’s dynamic with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin. After 3 popular seasons, however, Daredevil – in addition to Netflix’s other Marvel shows like The Punisher, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage – was surprisingly cancelled, with the rights to the characters reverting back to Marvel.

Despite fan campaigns and Cox and D’Onofrio’s willingness to return, Daredevil would lay dormant for a number of years, and it was unclear whether audiences would ever see those versions of the characters ever again. Then, D’Onofrio’s Kingpin showed up in Disney+’s Hawkeye last winter, marking the character’s official introduction into the MCU. Shortly thereafter, Cox made his own entrance into the MCU with his cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now, both Cox and D’Onofrio are slated to reprise their roles for Daredevil: Born Again, an upcoming Disney+ series, with Cox also confirmed to appear in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

In an interview with CinemaBlend from Disney’s recent D23 Expo 2022, Cox recalls a three-year period after the cancellation of Netflix’s Daredevil when he was convinced he would never play the hero again. The actor remembers D’Onofrio repeatedly expressing hope that Marvel would call them to reprise their roles in the MCU, with Cox jokingly calling the thought “delusional.” Check out Cox’s full comment below:

“It had been years. I put the suit on for the last time in – I didn’t know it at the time – but it was in 2017. And Kevin called me in 2020. I was joking earlier on like all that time Vincent [D’Onofrio] and I would chat and he was convinced they were going to call us, and I was like, ‘Buddy, like, you’re delusional. It’s over. It’s been over for a long time, like, we’re not playing these characters anymore.’ He’s like, ‘They’re going to call us.’”

While many fans were as convinced as D’Onofrio was that Cox would eventually don the Daredevil suit again, the actor’s comment makes it clear that there was a long period of uncertainty, even for the star. Unfortunately, it’s still unclear whether actors from Netflix’s other Marvel shows will also be getting the chance to reprise their roles. Overall, Daredevil seems to have been the most popular Netflix series of the bunch, but many fans would still likely appreciate the return of Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and Jon Bernthal as the Punisher.

Although Cox was featured in Spider-Man: No Way Home, audiences still have yet to actually see the character doling out justice in his Daredevil suit again. Daredevil’s role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has been confirmed to be lighter in tone, but, with Daredevil: Born Again officially deemed a reboot and not a continuation, it remains to be seen whether the upcoming series will be able to recapture the same magic as the original. While a number of questions remain regarding how Cox’s Daredevil will function in the MCU, fans can, at the very least, be thankful that D’Onofrio ended up being right.