Where Does Daredevil Fit In The MCU Timeline?

Originally made for Netflix, Daredevil's exact place within the MCU and its timeline hasn't always been made explicitly clear. Daredevil has finally landed on Disney+, where it can now be streamed alongside a wealth of other Marvel offerings, including the other Defenders shows and the films and TV shows of the MCU. However, as Daredevil's previous home was on Netflix, it may not be clear to some exactly where it fits within the MCU.

Daredevil - and the other Marvel shows released to Netflix - introduced a much grittier world than some of the MCU's earlier offerings. Though that slight tonal disconnect was less obvious when the show was on a separate streaming platform, Daredevil's Disney+ release has made it more evident than ever. Among the staggering amount of Marvel movies and TV shows, those released to Netflix are one of the biggest unknowns among the wider franchise.

Daredevil in particular actually contained a number of references to specific events within the MCU. These can be used to pinpoint a rough estimation of the show's place in the timeline, although its exact placement is made a little more difficult by other factors. With both Matt Murdock and Kingpin now having made their MCU debuts, exactly where and how Daredevil fits into the timeline is perhaps the only remaining question.

Where Does Daredevil Fit In The MCU Timeline?

The MCU's post-Endgame timeline has become somewhat difficult to unravel, but thanks to a handful of references to the events of the MCU made throughout Daredevil, placing where it fits in relation to previous movies and shows is relatively simple. In Daredevil season 1, there are articles written by Ben Urich about the Battle of New York and the Battle of Harlem, both of which occurred in Phase 1 (in The Avengers and The Incredible Hulk, respectively). This places Daredevil season 1 somewhere within the MCU's Phase 2, and its believed that season 3 took place sometime before the events of Avengers: Infinity War. This makes Daredevil's placement in the timeline relatively easy to reconcile with his MCU appearance, as No Way Home theoretically occurs after all of Daredevil.

Is Daredevil Part Of MCU Canon?

Daredevil MCU return shouldnt include him becoming a Avenger

Although Charlie Cox's Daredevil returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home (in the guise of Matt Murdock, at least), it's not been explicitly stated that Daredevil exists within the MCU's canon. However, the return of Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin in Hawkeye is perhaps more indicative of how the MCU will handle Daredevil's characters - it didn't explicitly reference the show's events, but it certainly kept a level of continuity with them. The nature of Daredevil's characters' existence in the MCU hasn't been acknowledged, but it's possible that even if the show's continuity is not canon, it may well be written into an alternate timeline (like Agents of SHIELD seasons 6 and 7).

The specifics of Daredevil's place in the MCU canon haven't yet been confirmed by Marvel, but there are a number of logical ways to either include or retcon the events of the show. It may not be clear whether the franchise will fully embrace the events of the Netflix Marvel shows, but the MCU has already begun to use some of its most popular characters. Daredevil already has its place within the MCU's timeline, so it's now simply up to Marvel to confirm whether or not the show is canon.

Next: Why Keeping Netflix’s Daredevil Canon Would Be A Mistake For The MCU