Daredevil writers reflect on the cancellation of the Netflix series

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Although Netflix had already cancelled Luke Cage and Iron Fist, it was still more than a little surprising when they axed Daredevil as well last week. The Marvel series launched its third season in October and the show's writers were already busy laying out the fourth season; in fact, Daredevil writer Tamara Becher-Wilkinson told iO9 that they were in the midst of creating a writing schedule for season four when the news broke.

[Showrunner Erik Oleson] got a call asking him to go down to see the Marvel executives, and I jokingly went ‘Ooooooooh,’ like a third grader does when someone gets called to a principal’s office. Then, he waited for everybody to gather back in the writers’ room and he said, ‘Netflix has decided not to move forward with season four.’ And that’s all I remember, you know. I kind of missed the details because I was, like, so surprised.

Becher-Wilkinson confessed that she thought that there was no way Netflix would cancel Daredevil. "I don’t know how well it does on Netflix or anything like that…[but] it was surprising to me they would cancel something that was so well received," she said. "I thought it was too big to fail." We still don't have an official reason for the cancellation of the series, but it's been speculated by many that Netflix will be ending all of their Marvel shows due to Disney launching their own streaming service next year. Marvel has indicated that more Daredevil adventures are in our future, but as to what form they'll take? We don't know.

Shortly after the cancellation, co-executive producer Sam Ernst took to Twitter to say "Man, so weird to be in the Daredevil writers room today, getting the news that we're cancelled. On the walls were an entire season 4 laid out – and it was so f***g cool. So many moments we wanted the fans to see… Sigh, this business." Tamara Becher-Wilkinson wouldn't elaborate on what those plans were, but did say that it would have blown the fans away. Season three showrunner Erik Oleson also took to Twitter to thanks the cast, crew, and fans for their efforts and support.

It's certainly said to see Daredevil go, especially as the crew seemed to have something truly special prepared for the fourth season, but I'll be surprised if this is the last we see of the Man Without Fear.