The third season of Daredevil will feature many things, including the return of past villains, and a Sopranos-inspired storyline. What it will not include is any crossovers from The Defenders. A move that may be surprising given that Iron Fist's post-credits scene teased Daredevil Season 3. Fans of the Marvel universe, curious as to why that decision was reached, are about to get their answer. Daredevil's new showrunner Erik Oleson explained the move to CinemaBlend's own Corey Chichizola, and here's what Oleson said:
What previous seasons did very well was set up other shows and things. There was a lot of that. But I'm kind of bringing it back to the core. And that is, as a Daredevil fan myself, what floats my boat and I think there are a lot of fans like me who are going to really be excited to go back to see the characters that we love and bounce them off one another in surprising ways. . . . I wanted it to be standalone. I did not do crossovers this season. I wanted really to get back to these core characters. And use the real estate to focus on who they are, and really flesh them out before I used external and other elements of the MCU.
Given that Daredevil was presumed dead at the end of the crossover miniseries event, you would think the characters that interacted with him there would be shown reacting to him being alive in Season 3. Maybe even desiring to confirm it in the flesh. But, it sounds like a passing mention may be all the superhero show ordered.
During its first two installments, Daredevil was the springboard to many characters within the Marvel Universe, including The Punisher and Elektra. The former ended up getting his own spinoff, and the latter played a crucial role in The Defenders' storyline. So, what Daredevil's showrunner is teasing is relatively groundbreaking for a new season of Netflix's original Marvel series, and exciting. The superhero drama shifting inwards, once again, to the characters it has developed will be a fun thing to explore.
That said, Daredevil has had a history of doing such a wonderful job with its crossovers, it was never really an issue. For instance, The Punisher's story was so cohesively woven into the fabric of Season 2 that it did not seem out of place when he was brought in. Plus, it fueled a stellar story for Karen, which helped her continue honing her identity. Not to mention the philosophical dialogues that took place between Frank Castle and Matt Murdock.
Based on the incredible trailer, conversations like those seem as though they will be echoed in Season 3's direction. So, in many ways, the crossovers have helped propel Daredevil as much as it has helped drive them. There are many intriguing things about Erik Oleson's quote, and one of them is him saying the show will be getting back to its core characters by having them interact in "surprising ways." Fans may have already gotten a hint as to what that might entail.
Daredevil's showrunner had previously teased to EW that Foggy and Matt's relationship would be hitting a rough patch in Season 3. Given how betrayed Foggy has felt by Matt that is not entirely surprising. One can only hope the one-time best friends can work things out. Tune in to find out if, and how, they can when Daredevil Season 3 premieres October 19 on Netflix. And, the superhero series will not be the only fresh content the streaming giant and networks will be welcoming this fall, so be sure to keep up with everything else coming to the small screen.
