Netflix's Daredevil TV show was a rare, gritty look at the seedier aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The forefather of the Netflix Defenders series, Daredevil was a massive success, cementing actor Charlie Cox as the face of Matt Murdoch.
Now, years later, Charlie Cox is back as The Devil of Hell's Kitchen in the main MCU. Appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the character is now established in the franchisees mainline continuity. But is the mainline MCU's family friendly nature a good fit for the character?
Daredevil should be ‘darker’, says Charlie Cox
In an interview with ComicBook, Cox discussed the move of Daredevil from the Netflix continuity to the MCU’s main universe. While the actor is excited to see the character come back in a mainstream universe, the MCU’s PG nature is a worry. However, he also explained that fans shouldn't underestimate Marvel.
"I wouldn’t put it past the folks at Marvel to be able to accomplish that," Cox said “I’m such a fan of everything they’ve done so far, I wouldn’t underestimate them at all… so if they wanted to make a more PG version of Daredevil, I back them to find a way to do where it feels totally in keeping with everything we’ve done. And maybe there’s a little less blood, maybe there’s a little whatever, but I back them to do it."
Afterwards, the actor explained that Daredevil isn't as well fitted to the PG world as other characters. In fact, that mature lens the character had in the Netflix universe could be seen as essential. While it can work, it may not work as well as before.
“It absolutely can work, but I guess what you can’t deny is Daredevil is never going to work as well in a PG world as Spider-Man does,” the actor continued. “Do you know what I mean? That’s the point - I think that the age of the character, the Christian guilt, his history with women and stuff, it’s like it’s a little bit more mature… it has to be.”
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Is Marvel against R ratings?
With the current makeup of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many believe Marvel is against more mature projects. Every Marvel movie and TV show has been created for a family friendly audience. While movies like Iron Man 3 and Infinity War have touched on more mature forms of storytelling, they've still been designed for families.
This move for an entirely family friendly universe has caused some to be enraged by certain decisions. For example, the upcoming Blade movie — one that was expected to be the first R-rated Marvel movie — will also be PG-13. As expected, many fans are upset at this decision.
However, Marvel isn't entirely against creating an R-rated MCU film. Deadpool 3, now owned by Disney and Marvel, will be the first mature MCU movie. However, this is likely due to pushback from main actor Ryan Reynolds.
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