The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever expanding place. Doctor Strange marks the 14th installment in the MCU, and there are also a ton of TV shows, the best of which are produced on Netflix. The Netflix/Marvel machine began with Daredevil, which introduced New York as a primary setting, as well as characters like Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage have all featured major plot twists where leading characters suddenly died, shocking the audience. This has led many to wonder if the lead/title characters are in jeopardy, especially once they unite for the Defenders miniseries.
Charlie Cox, who plays Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the MCU, recently spoke at Wizard World in Pittsburgh. During his appearance (via ScreenGeek), he revealed which characters could die in future installments:
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.
It looks like fan favorite characters like Misty Knight, Karen Page, and Trish Walker might be in danger in future episodes of the MCU.
Part of what makes quality high stakes TV shows is a sense of urgency. But when the characters in dramas seem untouchable, it can really detract from the show as a whole. This is what makes shows like The Walking Dead so exciting- anyone (except maybe Daryl) could die at any moment. Charlie Cox notes the surprising death of Ben Ulrich as the turning point for Daredevil, since comic book fans expected Ben to be on the show for the long run. Luke Cage also succeeded similarly by killing off the main villain, which ended up being a red herring for the true evil still to come. This twist shocked audiences, and made it clear that nobody was safe in the MCU.
It should be interesting to see how the Marvel/Netflix shows handle death when The Defenders are assembled. After Iron Fist is released in its entirety in March, we will have the Defenders miniseries to look forward to. The Defenders will be a major payoff for Netflix subscribers that have watched all four Marvel shows. The four unlikely heroes will team up to save New York from a large threat, including Sigourney Weaver's mysterious villain. Is it possible that main characters will fall in battle? I'd say so.
No wonder two of Charlie Cox's costars don't want the villainous Bullseye to enter the fray. They might not make it out in one piece.
