It's been a long time since we've had a big Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover. Fortunately, the wait is getting shorter and shorter. In 2026, audiences worldwide will see Earth's Mightiest Heroes assemble one more time to prevent the collapse of the multiverse as a whole. 27 different characters are already confirmed to take place in the biggest superhero cinematic event in history, but if that wasn't enough, then Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed more heroes are bound to appear.
Fans have been eager to learn who else is bound to join the Avengers on their upcoming crusade. We've seen reports that veterans such as Hulk will make a return, while it would be a true shocker if the likes of Spider-Man or Captain Marvel didn't come back. However, we'd all like to see "new blood" take over the spotlight as well. While some characters have been existing in the MCU for years, they've never been a part of the big crossovers. With that in mind, we all expected to finally see them make their Avengers debut in the coming years. Unfortunately, it seems like we'll have to keep waiting.
Daredevil and The Defenders won't appear in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars
Just a few months ago, it seemed like Daredevil had a bright future ahead of him in the MCU, even being positioned to team up with other iconic heroes. However, according to reliable industry insider Alex Perez (via The Cosmic Circus), he won't appear in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars. As if that wasn't enough, the rest of the Defenders won't join the fight against Doctor Doom either, with Alex stating that "those characters that are really isolated".
On the one hand, it's nice to know that Marvel won't include every possible character in its upcoming crossovers just for the sake of it. If there isn't a natural and organic way of folding a group of heroes into the story, it's best for them to miss out on the adventure. However, we can't deny it's also heartbreaking to learn that The Defenders will still be relegated to a little corner of the MCU after being completely isolated for many years.
The original Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist series were produced by Netflix, which meant they were mostly disconnected from the rest of the Marvel live-action adaptations. Charlie Cox, who portrays the role of Matt Murdock, even confirmed that the story of those adaptations wasn't originally going to be canon when bringing back his character into the MCU. Daredevil: Born Again initially featured variants of The Kingpin, The Man Without Fear, and Vanessa Fisk, who weren't the ones we'd seen years ago. It wasn't until a creative reboot mid-production that a new team decided to follow up on the story that had been laid out beforehand.
It's been a long and hard-fought journey for some of these characters to be acknowledged by the MCU. At the time being, only Jessica Jones is confirmed to make a return as well, which means the future of Luke Cage and Iron Fist remains up in the air. But if the Defenders gang was really coming back together (as it has been previously reported), then it would've been nice to see them in the crossovers they previously couldn't be a part of due to legal complications.
On the bright side, there's still one silver lining. Scooper Alex Perez also claimed that Marvel wants to make a big Devil's Reign adaptation that would take place across multiple projects (including a Spider-Man movie). If that turns out to be the case, then there's still a chance for a big street-level crossover to come our way, even if it doesn't take place in an Avengers movie. Just the idea of Spidey and Daredevil sharing the screen is exciting enough, but perhaps other characters, such as Kate Bishop, can also make an appearance.
Only time will tell what the future really holds in store for the Defenders. But for the time being, their reunion will certainly be welcome once Daredevil: Born Again season 2 premieres.
Daredevil: Born Again season 2 will be released in March 2026.