For the first time ever, a Marvel Studios streaming project had all episodes debut at once when Echo premiered on Disney Plus and Hulu. That meant plenty of fans stayed up late binging all five episodes of the TV-MA project with many taking to social media indicating it caused them to reminisce about the days of binging Netflix’s Marvel series just less than a decade or so ago. While Echo included a couple of connections to Netflix’s Daredevil, it also hinted at a major plot point for Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again and one of the studio’s most anticipated films.
After the credits rolled on the fifth and final episode of the series, titled “Maya”, a post-credit stinger showed Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Wilson Fisk–greatly changed by his encounter with Maya–headed back to New York on his private plane. After instructing his assistant to assemble “all the remaining heads” (presumably of New York City’s crime organizations) to “stabilize the situation before it spirals out of control.” The Kingpin’s attention then shifts a television where some Spectrum News talking heads are discussing the lack of a clear frontrunner in the race for a new Mayor of NYC. As the news anchors explain New Yorkers are looking for a “fighter” who can understand the pain and frustration they’re experiencing rather than a traditional politician, one says that a “bare-knuckle brawler” willing to “take on the establishment” would “do well” in the race for Mayor. As Fisk–clearly captivated by the idea of running for Mayor–leans forward, the camera cuts to black. What does this mean for the next time we see D’Onofrio’s character in Daredevil: Born Again?
Though Born Again has undergone significant creative restructuring, the post-credit scene would seem to ensure that one major plot point will stay intact when filming resumes. Several months before filming originally began, a rumor circulated that the series would feature Fisk running for Mayor of New York City (and eventually winning the race), as seen in author Charles Soule‘s acclaimed run on Marvel Comics Daredevil. In that run, as Mayor of NYC, Fisk launched a massive anti-vigilante campaign aimed at taking out long-time nemeses such as Daredevil and Spider-Man without lifting a finger. Further rumors about Daredevil: Born Again have consistently indicated that Fisk will launch a similar campaign in the series which will have some major implications for the MCU.
Shortly after Spider-Man: No Way Home debuted in theaters, Marvel Studios head honcho, Kevin Feige, confirmed that development on a fourth film had begun. By early 2023, the story for the film had been cracked as star Tom Holland was rumored to have agreed to a new deal to return as Peter Parker. Though development of the film was slowed as a result of the WGA strike, rumors of the film’s plot began to circulate in late 2023. Prominent among them was that Spider-Man 4 would be a street-level Civil War that would feature Spidey, Daredevil and Ant-Man leading other heroes against Mayor Fisk. Given that D’Onofrio and Holland have consistently expressed their desires to see Spidey and Kingpin face off in the MCU, the post-credit stinger in Echo feels like the first step in that direction though it’s unlikely fans will see it play out before 2026.
