Nearly three years after being greenlit, “Daredevil: Born Again” is finally here, reuniting Daredevil and Kingpin in the MCU. And the good news is, you don’t need to have as deep of a knowledge of the universe as you think in order to watch this.
With its first two episodes premiering on Disney+ on Wednesday night, “Daredevil: Born Again” is largely a continuation of the “Daredevil” series originally created on Netflix. In this story though, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is now mayor of New York, and Matt Murdock’s (Charlie Cox) days as Daredevil are much fewer and further between.
As with any MCU project, there are connections to the larger world. But like we said, you don’t need to do too much homework. Here are the things you should probably watch before “Daredevil: Born Again.”
Daredevil
While we don’t think you technically have to watch the original “Daredevil” series before “Born Again” to understand what’s going on, we definitely still recommend that you do, if you want the true, complete picture of the story.
The original series obviously contains quite a bit of context for what follows in “Born Again,” and does significantly more character- and world-building.
Echo
In “Born Again,” Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) successfully becomes New York’s mayor — an idea he first gets at the end of “Echo.”
Throughout “Born Again,” Fisk also talks a lot about being gone for a while – it put significant strain on his relationship with Vanessa – and even tells Matt Murdock that he tried to mentor a child. That child was Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), also known as Echo.
And yes, as Matt points out, she does shoot Kingpin in the face. So, if you want to understand what happened during the time Fisk was doing all that, you’ll want to check out “Echo.”
Hawkeye
Vincent D’Onofrio’s return to the MCU as Kingpin first happened in “Hawkeye,” as did that whole “shooting in the face” thing. “Hawkeye” isn’t essential to the story, but it does flesh out Fisk’s presence in the MCU a bit.
Admittedly, “Hawkeye” and “Echo” muddy the timeline of the events that “Born Again” carries over from “Daredevil,” but hey, if the X-Men can play fast and loose with canon, so can Daredevil.
And for extra credit…
The projects listed above are arguably the most essential to understanding everything that goes down in “Daredevil: Born Again.” But if you want some extra credit that goes really deep. You can watch the projects below.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Charlie Cox made his return as Daredevil and his entrance into the MCU with “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” And yes, there’s a little nod to the wall-crawler in episode 2 of “Born Again.” So, if you want to see a little of their history, you can check out this movie.
It is certainly not needed to understand the series though, and it’s a very brief appearance.
She-Hulk
Daredevil’s not donning his red and gold suit in “Born Again,” nor should we expect any mentions of his brief time with Jennifer Walters (sadly). But if you want to see Matt Murdock in more of his courtroom glory, specifically during the days with Nelson, Murdock and Page, you’ll find it in “She-Hulk.”
Once again, it’s not essential to understand “Born Again,” but it’s a fun watch.
