‘Daredevil’ Cast Was Not ‘OK’ When the Netflix Show Was Canceled
Daredevil was a huge hit for Netflix. So when the Marvel series was canceled, viewers were shocked and disappointed. But fans weren’t the only ones who felt that way. According to Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays Kingpin, the cast was also disheartened when Netflix nixed the show.
Why was ‘Daredevil’ canceled?
Disney+ may be the go-to for Marvel series these days. But before its inception, Netflix was the place for great superhero shows. Daredevil was the first of several. And after it premiered in 2015, it was followed by five interconnected shows — Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Defenders, Iron Fist, and The Punisher.
The Daredevil cast features Charlie Cox as the lawyer/superhero Matt Murdock; Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page; D’Onofrio as the villain Wilson Fisk/Kingpin; Elden Henson as Matt’s best friend, Franklin “Foggy” Nelson; and Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple.
After its thrilling third season, Daredevil was canceled — along with Netflix’s other Marvel shows. The decision came when Marvel Television, the studio that produced all of the series, was phased out.
Kingpin actor Vincent D’Onofrio says the ‘Daredevil’ cast was disappointed with the cancelation
Season 3 of Daredevil left Matt Murdock’s story open-ended. And as D’Onofrio explained, the cast and crew expected they’d get a fourth season to continue. So when the series was canceled, many of them were disappointed.
“I don’t think any of us were OK,” the actor told Comicbook.com. “I think that we were like, ‘Oh OK, we had a hit show, and now it’s gone.’”
But D’Onofrio noted that shortly after the cancellation, he and his co-stars found out that Disney was preparing to launch its streaming service, Disney+. He said the decision to nix the show started to make sense. However, the cast still couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that their popular show would not carry on.
“When you’re in this business a long time like we have all been, it kind of made sense business-wise,” D’Onofrio recalled. “What didn’t make sense to us was why we wouldn’t continue that show or the idea of how that worked and how well it worked.”
“Conceptually, I think we were disappointed, but I think we all understood what was going on and it sort of was inevitable,” he added. “In this business, you learn to accept things because you know it’s a business in the end, and there’s nothing you can really do about it.”
Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have since reprised their roles in the MCU
Daredevil may be over. But thanks to Marvel head Kevin Feige, Cox’s Matt Murdock, and D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk live on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. D’Onofrio appeared as the villain in the final episodes of the Disney+ series, Hawkeye. And Cox made a cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
There is speculation the stars will reprise their roles again. D’Onofrio may appear in the upcoming Echo series. And there is a chance Cox joins Tatiana Maslany in She-Hulk.
