Daredevil Born Again: explanations for the surprise appearance in the season 2 finale

Co-creator and showrunner Dario Scardapane shares why he did everything to keep it a secret…

The finale of season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again has a big surprise in store for the casting… and above all confirms a major return to the MCU.

Spoiler alert!

Mike Colter reprises his role as Luke Cage, the “Hero of Harlem”, in a brief but particularly striking appearance during the final episode entitled The Southern Cross, released online on Disney+ today. A return which is directly in line with the upcoming events of season 3, currently being filmed in New York.

The character of Luke Cage doesn’t appear completely out of nowhere. His presence had already been teased in season 2, notably via the introduction of Danielle Cage, the daughter he had with Jessica Jones, played by Krysten Ritter. The episode Requiem laid the foundations, while The Hateful Darkness reinforced the idea of ​​his remote involvement in operations linked to the CIA, via the character of Mr. Charles (played by Matthew Lillard). In the finale, the Cage-Jones family finally reunites, while Jessica relaunches her agency Alias ​​Investigations. A conclusion which also serves as a direct springboard to what follows.

This return of Luke Cage is part of a broader dynamic of reintegration of former heroes from Marvel Netflix series, after the returns of Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Jon Bernthal (Punisher) and Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones). According to co-creator and showrunner Dario Scardapane, Luke Cage’s appearance was thought of quite late (via ScreenRant):

“We wanted a little surprise, and we were already thinking about certain things for season 3,” he explains. “Luke Cage has become a really good little ending to the season. I think the fans are going to totally respond to it.”

For his part, Brad Winderbaum, series manager at Marvel Studios, admits that keeping the secret was complicated:

“It’s Luke Cage, man! When you’re in the same room as him, you say to yourself: ok, I really have Luke Cage in front of me,” he confides. He adds that he hopes that this return is only the beginning: “You never know what it could trigger…”

With this surprise appearance, Daredevil: Born Again clearly lays the foundations for its season 3 and continues to gradually reconnect the old heroes of the Netflix era to the great Marvel cinematic universe.