14
Credit: Marvel StudiosDaredevil actor Charlie Cox has spoken out regarding his role in an upcoming Marvel show on Disney+.
Three years ago, Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios officially entered the television series and streaming space. Following the success of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, Marvel Studios released its first series, WandaVision.
Over the years that have followed, the superhero giant has gotten increasingly confident with its TV distribution, but it hasn’t dominated the industry like its cinematic counterpart.
The current contention over Feige’s franchise centers around the studio’s oversaturation of projects. From movies to television shows to special TV presentations, there has been such a plethora of content that even the most ardent MCU fan can struggle to keep up.
After the last two years only included sequels, and 2023 delivered the poorest received entries thus far, the MCU is a significant course correct. It seems to be working, though, as Shawn Levy’s upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)–the only MCU movie on the 2024 slate–has already smashed ticket sales records and looks set to debut as the biggest opener of the year.
That said, the MCU has never felt more unreliable and fragile. Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger recently shared that the studio would be limited to releasing a maximum of three movies and two TV shows per year. This, along with the overhaul and restructuring of the TV business, is Disney’s attempt at steering the scattered franchise.
The loudest alarm bells sounded when, in 2023, Disney and Marvel confirmed that the highly-anticipated Daredevil: Born Again was being completely overhauled. The series was announced back in 2022 at San Diego ComicCon, but after numerous issues involving the cast and the Netflix continuity, excitement has turned to apprehension.
Daredevil: Born Again, originally an 18-episode series and now being touted as two nine-episode halves, is due to debut in 2025 and sees the return of Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, respectively.
It’s been a long time since Matt Murdock (Cox) showed up in the MCU in Spider-Man: Now Way Home (2021) and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and for those who are anxiously awaiting his return in 2025’s Born Again, there is a chance to catch the Man Without Fear later this year.
While it does not yet have a confirmed release date, it is expected that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will debut in 2024. The animated series follows a Multiversal version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) after the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016). The show sees Norman Osborn replace Tony Stark as Peter Parker’s mentor.
Interestingly, Marvel Studios scrapped the original iteration of this series, which was originally called Spider-Man: Freshman Year. A second season, still titled Spider-Man: Sophomore Year, will most likely be changed or removed altogether. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is produced by Head of Streaming, Television and Animation Brad Winderbaum and Jeff Trammell.
Hudson Thames plays Peter Parker, reprising his role from the What If…? animated series, with Eugene Byrd as Lonnie Lincoln, Grace Song as Nico Minoru, Hugh Dancy as Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus, Kari Wahlgren as May Parker, and Zeno Robinson as Harry Osborn.
Also featured in the show is Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, who recently spoke out about this mysterious show.
“I went into the studio and did some voiceover for that a long time ago,” Cox said at the Fan Expo Boston (via Comic Book Movie). “Years ago, when I was shooting She-Hulk, so I think that was 2021.”
Related: Report: Marvel NOT Featuring Daredevil in the MCU
It’s not unusual that the recording of this project happened so long ago, but when taking the current upheaval of the franchise it makes sense that this show has not yet seen the light of day.
“I’ve just seen a couple of scenes that I’ve voiced. And I haven’t even seen the scenes, I just saw the early drawings of it. That’s all I know,” Cox added. “I haven’t seen any of it. I have no idea what the story is, but it’s cool. It’s cool that [Daredevil’s] in it. I’m excited about it.”
If released this year, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will follow the hugely successful X-Men ’97 from creator Beau DeMayo. The sequel to the X-Men: The Animated Series, which ran from 1992 to 1997, was widely well-received and boosted anticipation for the mutants’ arrival in the live-action MCU.
As for Daredevil: Born Again, the show, following its creative overhaul in 2023, will now be more directly connected to the events of the Daredevil Netflix series, which ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2018. Also joining Cox and D’Onofrio will be Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page and Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, both reprising their roles from the previous show.
Related: With Five Weeks To Go, Marvel Officially Slashes ‘Deadpool’ Release Date
Showrunner Dario Scardapane’s Daredevil: Born Again will be released under the newly resurrected Marvel Television banner. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are involved as lead directors.
Will you be catching Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!