Out of all the recent MCU projects, Daredevil: Born Again's place on the Marvel timeline might be the most difficult to pin down.
Not only is it a quasi-sequel to Netflix's Daredevil (a show that famously operated on the fringes of Marvel Studios canon), Charlie Cox's subsequent appearances as The Man Without Fear in She-Hulk, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Echo confuses matters further. On top of that, Marvel's own inability to properly nail down times and dates for most of its movies and shows makes it an even tougher task.
If you're here, you're probably looking for answers to one of three questions: when does Born Again take place compared to Daredevil season 3? What year does Born Again take place in the MCU? Which Marvel projects come before or after Born Again?
So, below we'll run you through the thorny issue of where Daredevil: Born Again sits on the Marvel timeline. Though you might also need our guides on how to watch Marvel movies and how to watch the Defenders in order as companions as we take you through the twisting, turning tapestry that Marvel Studios has concocted.
Beware: there are mild spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episodes one and two below.
Where does Daredevil: Born Again take place on the Marvel timeline?
In the absence of any official word from Marvel, we're pretty confident Daredevil: Born Again takes place in around 2026 or 2027 in the MCU.
Given that the events of Daredevil's last appearances in Echo and She-Hulk take place circa 2025, that makes it doubly obvious that Daredevil: Born Again takes place some time after those cameos.
Why? It's Echo that provides the answer. By the point of that series' post-credits scene, Kingpin hadn't yet decided to run for mayor. By Daredevil: Born Again's second episode – on the cusp of a new calendar year, no less – he is set to take office.
Confusingly, Born Again also jumps forward a year ahead after its cold open prologue. The timeframe appears to suggest the prologue is around 2025 (while Daredevil is still active), before skipping ahead 12 months to 2026. From there, Mayor Fisk welcomes crowds on New Year's Eve – presumably just before the start of 2027.
So, yes, to be clear: Daredevil: Born Again takes place after Daredevil's appearances in Echo, She-Hulk, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. That's also evidenced by Matt Murdock seemingly retiring in the first two episodes of Born Again after a major plot point from the premiere that we shan't spoil here. In those prior projects, he was still wearing the suit or active as a crimefighter.
Is Daredevil: Born Again set after the Netflix series?
But what about how Daredevil: Born Again fits into the Netflix timeline? After all, Kingpin actor Vincent D'Onofrio told IGN that the Disney Plus series is "essentially season 4" in all but name.
Charlie Cox told SFX magazine that Daredevil: Born Again takes place six years after where we left off in Daredevil season 3. Bullseye actor Wilson Bethel was in a similar ballpark in an interview with Collider, where he says it's been five years since the events of the Netflix series (though that could account for the pre-one year timeskip in episode one).
Unfortunately, the timeline nerds out there will know that doesn't quite map onto the Marvel timeline as neatly as you might hope for, given that it's largely thought that the Daredevil series took place from 2014-2017 and Born Again stretches up to 2027, a decade later.
But, then again, the Netflix series always played fast and loose with its adjacency to core MCU events. In truth, both things can be true – as long as you don't think about it too hard: Daredevil: Born Again takes place five or six years after Daredevil season 3, while it's also been bumped up on the calendar to match current MCU canon. That would place it in around 2026 or 2027, just going by how Echo, She-Hulk, and No Way Home are pretty definitively locked into late 2024 (in Spidey's case) or 2025.
Let's wait for Marvel to have the final judgement once the dust settles on its usual MCU timeline watch order on Disney Plus in the coming weeks, but we're pretty certain we now have our answer.
For more, check out all the upcoming Marvel movies you have to look forward to this year. Then, keep up on all the latest MCU action with our runthrough of Marvel Phase 5.
