Marvel Studios Producer Confirms That Netflix's Daredevil Series Is Officially Part Of The "Sacred Timeline"

We can finally put the debate to rest

Ever since Marvel’s Daredevil was cancelled at Netflix, the future was unclear for the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and company. After all, it didn’t seem the violent and grounded nature of the series would fit into the more family-friendly Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But discarding Charlie Cox’s definitive portrayal of Matt Murdock, or Vincent D’Onofrio’s majestic performance as Wilson Wisk/Kingpin, was something Kevin Feigi would have been really naïve to do considering how much fans love these characters and the actors who played them.

Daredevil himself, Charlie Cox spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about how his co-star, Vicent D’Onofrio was always confident that Marvel would call them back.

“For years, we would just speak as friends.” Cox said. “The show had ended, and everything else had moved on, so we were just mates. But he would always say, “They’re going to call us.” And I’d get off the phone and be like, “No, they’re not, buddy. It’s over. Let it go. Too much time has passed.” So he was right all along. I really thought he was delusional about that. (Laughs.) We chatted the other day, and I was like, “What do you know?” And he’s like, “Well, I heard this, and when I spoke to the writers, they told me this.” And I was like, “Well, I heard this. So maybe that makes sense.””

A glimmer of hope came in 2021 as both actors officially joined the MCU when Matthew Murdock appeared on Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Kingpin was revealed as the main villain in the finale of Hawkeye. Charlie Cox would also get to make a guest appearance as Daredevil in two episodes of 2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

But even then the debate remained, were these characters the versions that we knew, or were they variants from the Multiverse? That question can now be put to rest.

Next week we’ll get to see the continuation of the evets of Hawkeye where Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) faces off against her past and her adoptive uncle, Wilson Fisk when Echo premieres on Disney+ and Hulu on Tuesday, January 9th at 6:00pm Pacific Standard Time.

During the series’ promotional tour, MCU executive producer Brad Winderbaum spoke to Screen Rant, and finally put an end to the speculation:

“I can say that up until this point, we've been a little bit cagey about what's Sacred Timeline, what's not Sacred Timeline. That was born of, frankly, a period at the studio where we were like, "We have to stick the landing with the vendors." It was another part of the company developing the Netflix stuff. We were aware of what they were doing, they were aware of what we were doing, but there was a lot to balance anyway.

But now that some time has passed; now that we see actually how well integrated the stories are, I think that I personally, Brad Winderbaum, would be confident in saying it is part of the Sacred Timeline.”

Marvel Studios also released a promo today where they show the events of Marvel’s Daredevil as canon, which is important because Charlie Cox will also guest star in the series, and for the looks of it, Marr Murdock will once again “let the Devil out!”

Echo’s release will also be important because it will be the first project under the new banner Marvel Spotlight, which will be a place where more street-grounded heroes can appear and interact with each other. Also, the stories will not have to rely completely on the rest of the MCU, giving the writers and directors more freedom to tell the stories. This banner will include the upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again, and I’m sure many others will follow suit.

With the “Sacred Timeline” debate finally put to rest, we can all sit back and enjoy what promises to be an exciting revival of the MCU after a lackluster couple of entries, and marvel (pun intended) at the world of possibilities this revelation now opens for the future.

Are you as excited as we are to watch Daredevil and Kingpin’s return in Echo?