How Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home brought Netflix Marvel shows into Marvel Cinematic Universe

Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye SPOILERS AHEAD

With the season finale of Hawkeye following Spider-Man: No Way Home, the fourth phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is well underway. And if the introduction of certain characters is any hint, it does seem that MCU is absorbing, or at least introducing versions of popular but now-cancelled Netflix Marvel shows.

While the MCU has been a web of inter-connected films with characters and incidents of one appearing or being referenced in others, the Marvel TV and web series were never fully canon. The Marvel Netflix shows, which began with Daredevil in 2015, did reference some incidents and characters from the MCU but this wasn’t reciprocated in the films. After Disney acquired Marvel, the plan was to have more Marvel shows on Disney+ instead and Marvel pulled the plug on the shows, much to the fans’ annoyance.

For years, fans had campaigned and pleaded to Marvel to bring back some fan favourite characters and actors from those Marvel Netflix shows into the MCU. And Marvel has finally listened. The first step was taken in the Disney+ show Hawkeye, the fifth episode of which introduced the mob boss Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin. Fans rejoiced as Kingpin was played by Vincent D’Onofrio, the same actor who portrayed him for three seasons in Daredevil. A fan-favourite, Vincent appeared as the big bad in the season finale of Hawkeye.

The second bonus Marvel gave its fans was in the opening sequence of Spider-Man: No Way Home, when Peter Parker was introduced to his lawyer Matt Murdock. For those, who aren’t familiar with Marvel comics, Matt Murdock is a blind lawyer, who moonlights as the superhero known as Daredevil. IThe fact that MCU got Charlie Cox to reprise his role from the Netflix show got many fans excited. In fact, Matt even displayed some of his daredevilry by proving to be quicker than Peter in catching a brick thrown at them. 

But some fans are concerned that these appearances may just be one-off fan services- cameos at best. However, comic book fans know that in the comics, Kingpin has a big history with Echo, a character that Marvel has just given their own spin-off series. It is highly likely that Kingpin will feature prominently there. Similarly, Marvel boss Kevin Feige has already stated that Charlie will always be MCU’S Daredevil. “If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil. Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen,” he told Cinema Bland.

What remains to be seen, however, is whether these characters are the same ones from the Netflix shows or some variants. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Vincent D’Onofrio confirmed that he was treating it as the same character. “So as the actor playing the character, I approached it exactly the same way I developed the character that I portrayed on Daredevil. He has the same emotional life. Everything that he does, everything that he says, every confrontation that he has, every emotion that he shows, comes through the events and the pain of his childhood,” he said.