I Just Realized Daredevil: Born Again Creates A Major MCU Timeline Question After His Appearance In Marvel's She-Hulk Show

While I’m very excited about the upcoming release of Daredevil: Born Again, I’m confused about one key plot point in the MCU series, and the events of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has made this even worse. I have loved watching Charlie Cox’s portrayal of blind lawyer-come-vigilante Matt Murdock since he first appeared as the Man Without Fear in Netflix’s Daredevil series. Born Again will thankfully be continuing Daredevil’s stories, as the Defenders Saga is now MCU canon, but I’m confused about the upcoming show’s actual place in the MCU.

The first trailer for Daredevil: Born Again has revealed an intense and dark new adventure for the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, as he goes back into battle against the likes of Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin, Benjamin Poindexter’s Bullseye and the enigmatic Muse. I can’t wait to see Charlie Cox’s Daredevil back in action, especially after getting glimpses of him in Spider-Man: Homecoming, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Echo. However, I’m also curious about how Marvel Studios will explain one major timeline discrepancy I’ve noticed ahead of Born Again’s premiere.

Matt Murdock Is Retired In Daredevil: Born Again

Matt Murdock Will Not Be Daredevil When Born Again Begins

One of the key things I noticed from Daredevil: Born Again’s trailer is that it begins with Matt Murdock having retired as Daredevil. The trailer hints that, at some point, Murdock crossed the line while operating as Daredevil, which some have theorized means he may have killed someone, forcing him to hang up the cowl and resume life as a regular lawyer. This seems to allow him to enter into a tenuous truce with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, which I’m excited to see, but Daredevil’s retirement raises some big questions for the MCU.

Of course, it doesn’t seem like Daredevil: Born Again will go too long before Matt Murdock suits up as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen once again. Charlie Cox is expected to sport a brand-new, brighter, more MCU-appropriate Daredevil costume while fighting alongside the likes of Frank Castle’s Punisher and Hector Ayala’s White Tiger against some formidable new villains. As excited as I am, however, I’m very confused about the details surrounding Matt Murdock’s retirement in Daredevil: Born Again, as this makes little sense in the MCU’s timeline.

Daredevil’s Retirement Doesn’t Make Sense In The MCU After She-Hulk

Daredevil Suited Up Alongside Jennifer Walters In She-Hulk: Attorney At Law

A retirement storyline for Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again would certainly be very interesting under normal circumstances, but in the current MCU timeline, I don’t think this makes a lot of sense. Matt Murdock was not retired during the events of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which was set in 2025 in the MCU’s timeline, while Daredevil: Born Again is seemingly set in the MCU’s present day of late 2026. Born Again must be set after the events of Echo, which teased Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin becoming Mayor of New York City, and Echo was also set in 2025.

Charlie Cox’s MCU Project

Year

Daredevil Season 1

2015

Daredevil Season 2

2016

The Defenders

2017

Daredevil Season 3

2018

Spider-Man: No Way Home

2021

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

2022

Echo

2024

Daredevil: Born Again

2025

It’s possible that Matt Murdock retired as Daredevil after She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but this year-long gap wouldn’t really be a meaningful amount of time, and would surely be considered just a brief hiatus rather than an honest-to-goodness retirement. Daredevil: Born Again’s trailer makes us think Murdock has been retired for quite some time, but the timeline of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Echo makes this impossible. I reckon Marvel Studios could implement an old MCU theory to explain these timeline issues, but even this has problems.

Daredevil: Born Again Could Explore A Mostly-Unseen Period In The MCU

Daredevil: Born Again Has Been Speculated To Explore The Blip

Daredevil looking over his shoulder in Daredevil Born Again

Ever since the series was first announced by Marvel boss Kevin Feige, there has been speculation that Daredevil: Born Again could explore the five-year-long Blip from Avengers: Endgame in more detail. Examining this world-changing event from the street-level perspective in the MCU is something I’ve been desperate to see, and this could explain the timeline issues that I’ve spotted in Born Again‘s trailer. We know Daredevil was active in 2018, as he fought Maya Lopez during that time, but he didn’t reappear until the 2024-set She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

In December, Bullseye actor Wilson Bethel revealed that Daredevil: Born Again will pick up five years after the end of the original series, which concluded in 2018. This implies Born Again will, at least partially, be set during, or shortly after, the Blip in 2023.

This would give Matt Murdock more than enough time to have a meaningful retirement, perfectly setting the stage for Daredevil: Born Again to explore his return to action. This makes me think Daredevil: Born Again might take place over several different time periods in the MCU’s recent history, investigating the Blip, the period shortly before She-Hulk, and the period following Wilson Fisk’s decision to run for Mayor at the end of the 2025-set Echo. I can’t wait to see Marvel Studios’ explanation for this timeline discrepancy in Daredevil: Born Again.

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