December delivered not one, but two Christmas gifts to Daredevil fans last month, as the much-loved Netflix show’s hero and its villain both returned to the MCU in different projects. Three years after the streaming giant canceled its slate of Marvel series, the fandom’s prayers were answered when Charlie Cox cameod in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin was revealed as the big bad of Hawkeye.
Though the Disney-owned Marvel might not have been planning to direct fans to their now rivals, it seems these crossovers had the effect of sending Daredevil viewership soaring over on Netflix. As per Variety (via ScreenRant), the latest Nielsen Streaming Content ratings reveal that Daredevil was launched back into the Top 10 Most-Watched Original Streaming Programs last month. The show, which ran for three seasons, earned a staggering 195 million viewership minutes in the week beginning December 20, 2021.
It’s likely this in-flux of streamers was a blend of both DD diehards who got the itch to watch the series again after Cox and D’Onofrio’s comebacks, as well as those new to the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen who decided they needed to find out more about Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk after seeing them in No Way Home and Hawkeye. The renewed popularity of the Netflix production is another reason why Disney needs to get going on a Daredevil revival ASAP.
With season four yet to be announced, though, there are a few places Cox and D’Onofrio are rumored to be turning up next. Hawkeye spinoff Echo seems a logical next step for either character, with there also being talk of Murdock teaming up with fellow superhero attorney Jennifer Walters in this year’s She-Hulk. Fans likewise want to see other Daredevil characters like Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) return, too.
Just so long as Marvel doesn’t make us wait another three years, we’ll be happy.