Daredevil: Born Again is landing on Disney Plus very soon, so you might want to catch up with everything that has happened to Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock before that.
The blind vigilante debuted a decade ago in the fan-favorite Netflix series Daredevil, and has already featured in several MCU titles. Here, we've selected the most important TV shows and movies that will prepare you for the events to come in the new show.
The 7 Marvel movies and shows to watch before Daredevil: Born Again
Ready for a Marvel marathon? Here we list all the titles that you should ideally watch before Daredevil: Born Again, although they're not all strictly necessary.
You should definitely give the Daredevil series a watch, but some of his appearances on recent Marvel movies and shows might not be that relevant for what's to come. For instance, we haven't included Charlie Cox's cameo in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, since the animated show is set in an alternative reality, which means it won't impact the new show.
We haven't included Ms. Marvel either, despite Kamala Khan's father, Yusuf Khan (played by Mohan Kapur), featuring in the official trailer. It's unclear if his presence in the show will be important, or if it could lead to an appearance of Kamala Khan herself, but at this time we're only expecting it to be a funny cameo.
Now, dive into our list of Marvel shows and movies to watch before Daredevil: Born Again.
Daredevil (Seasons 1 - 3)
The most obvious and necessary rewatch ahead of Daredevil: Born Again is the original Daredevil series, which ran on Netflix from 2015 to 2018. If you haven't watched it yet, you really need to — and it's not even because you would have to catch up with the story before the new Disney Plus show, but because this is one of the best superhero shows ever made.
Daredevil is an absolute gem of a show, with a compelling and charismatic lead, stunning action, breathtaking fights, an excellent supporting cast, a complex villain, and fascinating views on topics ranging from good-vs-evil to gentrification. If Daredevil: Born Again is as good as this one, we are in for a great time.
You can now watch the three seasons of Daredevil on Disney Plus.
Note: Between seasons 2 and 3, make sure you give The Defenders a watch — keep reading to find out why.
The Defenders
Netflix's Marvel series introduced four superheroes (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist) who went on to team up for the one-season show The Defenders. It's only eight episodes, and it's a great watch to fit in before Daredevil: Born Again.
Although it hasn't been confirmed, The Defenders could make an appearance in the new Disney Plus show. At the very least, their work in this one-time adventure, in which they save New York City from annihilation, is probably going to be acknowledged at some point. Better to have it fresh in your mind.
Note: Of course, for a more complete experience of this viewing, you should also rewatch Jessica Jones (seasons 1-3), Luke Cage (season 1-2) and Iron Fist (seasons 1-2), but those are A LOT of hours of television. If you're only looking to have some context for Daredevil: Born Again, watching the Daredevil series and The Defenders should be enough. Now, if you are ready for a long Marvel marathon, all these shows are absolutely worth it.
The Punisher (Seasons 1 and 2)
It was hardly a surprise that Jon Bernthal's brutal antihero The Punisher got his own spin-off show after appearing in Daredevil, as he instantly became a fan-favorite.
Bernthal is set to return as Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again, so it might be important to go over the events of this two-season show before watching the new show. If you've watched Daredevil season 2, you know Frank and Matt Murdock end up becoming close friends and allies, so everything about this character's background is important as we move forward.
The Punisher is a dark, complex, ultraviolent show that follows a man looking for the truth about his family's murder. Given that Born Again is set to be equally brutal and bloody, rewatching this spin-off series could be a perfect warm-up.
Hawkeye
While the events of Daredevil, The Defenders, and The Punisher are all part of the Netflix era, Hawkeye was the first time that we saw Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk in the MCU timeline. This is an important distinction to make ahead of Daredevil: Born Again, as the new show might rely more heavily in what has happened within the official confines of the franchise rather than what came before.
Hawkeye is an interesting rewatch as it gives us more details about Fisk, who is set to play a big part in Born Again. The character only physically appears in episodes 5 and 6 of the show. However, it features a new side of the character through his relationship with his surrogate niece Maya Lopez (played by Alaqua Cox).
What happens to him at the end of the six-episode season is worth remembering ahead of the new episodes, and it served as a set-up for the spin-off series Echo (see next).
Echo
Echo focuses on Maya Lopez's journey following the events of Hawkeye, but the six-episode show also turned out to be one of the major set-ups for Daredevil: Born Again. There is one fighting scene featuring Daredevil and lots of background story for Wilson Fisk, who follows Maya to her hometown to win back her affections.
The show continues to explore Wilson Fisk's character, but it's what happens in Echo's post-credit scene that will directly impact the new Daredevil show — Fisk seems to make the decision to run for Mayor of New York City, which we now know will be a central storyline for the next chapter.
In the comic books, Daredevil unsuccessfully tries to prevent Fisk to become the mayor. With his new power, he starts a war against the city's crime-fighters, even asking for Daredevil to be arrested. This could be where the story is heading next, but it's yet to be confirmed.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home marked Charlie Cox's debut in the MCU — even if it was just for one brief scene. Released in 2021, the film featured a reunion of three versions of Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland), and was an absolute box-office hit even during pandemic times.
It's a fun rewatch, regardless of the reason, but it's particularly interesting ahead of Daredevil: Born Again. In one scene, Matt Murdock shows up as Peter's lawyer, and he displays his extraordinary abilities by catching a brick that flew through the window behind him. When asked how he did that, he simply says: "I'm a really good lawyer".
It's just one scene, but the connections between Daredevil and Spider-Man could grow over time in the MCU, as they do in Marvel comic books.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Besides Spider-Man: No Way Home and Echo, the only other time we've seen Daredevil in the MCU was in a couple of episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. However, and despite Tatiana Maslany being happy to reprise her role, these events will not have an impact on Daredevil: Born Again.
"I try to ignore some stuff [from the wider MCU]," Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane told SFX Magazine in January, adding: "You can say that Daredevil is canon in the MCU, those other events [in Spider-Man and She-Hulk] happened, but some of them we are not leaning into. His one-night stand with She-Hulk may be one of those things."
No, the playful Matt Murdock that we met in the 2022 series will not be back, as the new show is more about the brutality of the original Daredevil rather than the comedy of She-Hulk.
If you want to watch everything just in case, you can catch Daredevil in episodes 8 and 9 of She-Hulk.
For more from Marvel, check the upcoming Marvel movies headed your way very soon. If you're still in need of a catch-up, you'll want to dive into the Marvel timeline and our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
