Daredevil’s Charlie Cox: Marvel TV Can Kill Characters At Any Time

Marvel’s Daredevil was the first original series to come to Netflix after the streaming platform and the comic book company came to a huge distribution deal back in 2013. Since its massive success, a second season was spawned alongside Jessica Jones and Luke Cage; with the fourth Marvel/Netflix series, Iron Fist coming to Netflix in March 2017.

Having acquired a sizable fanbase over the past three years, these shows have continued to shock and surprise with their developments, twists and turns. Now actor Charlie Cox, who plays Matt Murdock a.k.a. the lead in Daredevil, has talked a little bit about how no character is safe in the world of Marvel TV.

Speaking to fans at this weekend’s Wizard World in Pittsburgh (via Screen Geek), Cox explained that nobody in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is guaranteed a lengthy future, no matter their path in the comic books:


“I know that as a show, they don’t try to take storylines that are already written. We want to be our own thing. One of the reasons they killed Ben Urich, which was such a great shock for me, but the reason I think they do it because the people who love the show are great fans and have read the comics and we need them to know this is not a safe place and the drama is going to affect you as well. You don’t know what’s going to happen. If we kill Ben Ulrich, what does that mean? We could do anything potentially.”


Characters from all four Marvel/Netflix series will be coming together next year in the crossover miniseries, The Defenders. Based on Cox’s warning, there’s a real risk that certain supporting players will be meeting their end in The Defenders. Of course, both Daredevil season 3 and Jessica Jones season 2 have been confirmed, so it’s safe to say that Cox’s character and Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones (along with the other leads) will be making it out alive.

Moving away from source material is always a risk. Comic book purists exist in their droves and may not be happy with the way in which creators take the series. Having built such a steady and loyal fan base, it would be sad to see many slip away because of unexpected developments.

For many though it will be nice to see something new. Knowing exactly what’s around every corner could mean the show turns into a slog with zero surprises and no pulling power to entice viewers in-the-know to keep coming back. Other shows have maintained success by doing this sort of thing, including AMC’s The Walking Dead and HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones.

Daredevil seasons 1 and 2, Jessica Jones season 1, and Luke Cage season 1 are now available on Netflix. Iron Fist will premiere on March 17, 2017. The Defenders and The Punisher will arrive in 2017. Premiere dates for the newest seasons of Jessica Jones and Daredevil  have not yet been announced.