Will Daredevil's New Show Be Disney+'s First TV-MA Release?

Daredevil is returning with a new series on Disney+, but will be the streaming service's first new TV-MA-rated show, or will Disney water it down?

Will Daredevil's New Show Be Disney+'s First TV-MA Release?

Daredevil is getting a revival on Disney+, and with it comes the question of whether it will be the first new show on the streaming service to be rated TV-MA. Disney+ added parental controls for Daredevil seasons 1-3 and the rest of the Netflix Marvel shows when they arrived on the platform, so the idea of TV-MA marvel content on the streaming service isn’t new. However, these were existing shows, as opposed to the MCU creating more adult, graphic content specifically for Disney+, which is an altogether different and bigger step.

While the MCU was growing its brand at the multiplex, Netflix built a Marvel annex on television aimed at a more mature audience. Along with Daredevil, the TV-MA-rated series Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher, as well as the team-up show The Defenders, were brought to brutal life. The impending arrival of Disney+, however, meant that these shows were canceled to bring their characters under the Disney umbrella. For a while, it was unclear whether the characters would be rebooted or not. When Charlie Cox made a welcome return as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, hope was kindled that Daredevil at least would get a second chance on Disney+. This has now come to pass and seems to be a revival of the Netflix show as a proper Daredevil season 4. What isn’t known yet is its rating or how Disney+ will approach the violence inherent in the world of Daredevil for the family-friendly service.

The original Daredevil Netflix show was a hit with fans and critics, who lauded the darker and gritty take on the Man With No Fear. Its brutality is part of its appeal and identity, which would appear to dictate that now the Disney+ show should be rated TV-MA. Watering down the violence could rob it of its intensity and verisimilitude that set it apart from the standard Marvel content. Conversely, Disney+ has built a Marvel hub that by and large encompasses inclusivity for its broad fanbase. Restricting its audience by making Daredevil the first new TV-MA-rated MCU show on Disney+ could hinder Marvel’s universe building. While Daredevil would retain its integrity, it could lose out when it came to cameos from other family-friendly Marvel heroes or plot points that set up larger storylines across other shows and movies.

Notwithstanding that Disney+ might choose not to make Daredevil a TV-MA-rated show, this might still work given that the boundaries for superhero violence have been blurred of late. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was criticized by some who thought the violence and horror aspects of the movie exceeded the threshold of its PG-13 rating. Moon Knight similarly leaned into the brutal traits that it shares with Daredevil, and that show was rated TV-14. There are therefore potentially creative ways for Disney+ to retain an artistic vision of a brutal vigilante through a less graphic lens.

Kevin Feige has promised that when Deadpool 3 arrives it will be R-rated, indicating that the MCU isn’t 100 percent averse to providing content unsuitable for its younger fans. The DCEU has already embraced this approach, with Peacemaker being rated TV-MA. How Disney+ will translate the violence inherent in the concept of Daredevil remains to be seen, but for now, it’s just good that he’s getting a second chance.