Matt Murdock has had better days.
The lawyer by day, kick-ass crime fighter by night was last seen licking his wounds – both physical and emotional – at the tail-end of Daredevil season 2, when Charlie Cox’s sullen lead was coming to terms with his crumbling friendship with Foggy, Karen Page, and the ‘death’ of his former flame, Elektra.
And though time may heal all wounds, as the old saying goes, the British actor spoke to Cinema Blend recently about The Defenders and how Marvel and Netflix’s team-up show opens at a time when Matt is on the verge of renouncing the Daredevil title for good. Hard as it is to believe, Charlie Cox will suit up as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen once the eight-episode series gets going in earnest, and his street-level hero reluctantly forms a pact with three other superpowered individuals to become The Defenders we know and love. And not a moment too soon, either, as Sigourney Weaver’s all-powerful Alexandra Reid (the Beast of the Hand, perhaps?) is plotting New York’s downfall.
During his chat with Cinema Blend, Charlie Cox also noted that The Defenders takes place six months after the events of Daredevil season 2, when Elektra was left in the company of The Hand. Another tidbit worth keeping in mind is that previous reports have revealed that the entire ensemble series unfolds over the course of a single week, so you’d best strap in.
At the end of Daredevil season two, everyone failed. Matt failed, and the consequences were devastating. Six or so months have passed, and he’s had to completely reevaluate everything that he believes, everything that he does. And he’s decided to hang up the suit, as it were. He’s focusing all of his energies on being a pro bono lawyer. And I don’t think he has any interest, really, in being Daredevil anymore.
Marvel and Netflix plan to assemble New York’s street-level heroes in time for August 18th, and though both parties have mapped out the immediate future for all four standalone shows – namely Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist – a second season of The Defenders isn’t a sure thing…yet.