ECHO’s Kingpin Trailer May Have Confirmed Daredevil Series As MCU Canon

Marvel Studios will kick off the new year with its upcoming crime series, ECHO, all episodes of which will premiere on 9th January 2024 on Disney+. As the cast has begun the media tour for the series, which falls under the Marvel Spotlight banner, Daredevil fans finally learned whether the series factors in the current timeline.

This was revealed in the latest trailer for ECHO, which centers on Wilson Fisk/Kingpin and explained in a recent interview with Marvel Studios executive producer Brad Winderbaum. Focusing on the trailer titled Hurt, which chronicles Fisk’s journey thus far from Netflix’s Daredevil series, the trailer highlighted utilized scenes from the show, including his childhood experiences of murdering his father in retaliation for abusing his mother, his prison stint and encounters with Daredevil.

The trailer jumped forward to Hawkeye, teasing his relationship with Maya Lopez/Echo and the battle they’ll face in ECHO, seemingly confirming that the events of the Daredevil series occurred within the 616 (the Sacred) timeline. Fans of the Netflix Marvel shows, which included Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders, have long debated whether the events and characters are part of the 616 timeline or existed in a separate timeline altogether.

This discussion has been long ongoing, considering that Marvel Studios has yet to decide and confirm a similar fate for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which has yet to be finalized. However, the confirmation that Daredevil may be considered MCU canon was further elaborated by Winderbaum in an interview with Screen Rant.

On whether Daredevil would be a part of the MCU’s main timeline, Winderbaum commented that he believes it is, stating that Marvel Studios has been cautious on “what's Sacred Timeline, what's not Sacred Timeline.”

That was born of, frankly, a period at the studio where we were like, "We have to stick the landing with the vendors." It was another part of the company developing the Netflix stuff. We were aware of what they were doing, they were aware of what we were doing, but there was a lot to balance anyway.

But now that some time has passed, now that we see actually how well integrated the stories are, I think that I personally, Brad Winderbaum, would be confident in saying it is part of the Sacred Timeline.

Despite Winderbaum’s comments, Marvel Studios has not officially recognized the Netflix Marvel shows, but the trailer may be a start to fully realizing this. Adding Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders shows into the main timeline acknowledges the events, characters, and stories told over multiple seasons without disregarding their backstories, which could be expanded on in future MCU projects.

This could be a sign for other properties that have yet to learn of their fate, like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Runaways. With Daredevil set to appear in ECHO and a reworking of the Daredevil: Born Again series in the hands of Moon Knight and Loki directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, we may see these characters appear once again and finally get answers on the MCU canon debate.

All five episodes of the Marvel Spotlight show ECHO premiers on Hulu and Disney+ on 9th January 2024. Check your local listings for exact times and dates for your region.