Since Spider-Man: No Way Home received plenty of attention for the big-name cameos it had alone, you'd think that every fan at every showing would be jumping for joy to see Charlie Cox's Daredevil finally be brought into its Cinematic Universe. Sadly, according to the actor himself, that wasn't the case.
Rumors of Cox's Daredevil appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home persisted for months prior to the film's release. While most fans were thrilled when Cox's Matt Murdock showed up for a brief Spider-Man: No Way Home cameo, it appears at least one crowd of moviegoers wasn't nearly as impressed.
While sneaking into a showing of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Cox was under the impression that Marvel fans would go nuts to see his return to Marvel as blind attorney-at-law Matt Murdock, ie Daredevil. Sadly, not only was there very little response to his cameo in the film, but there seemed to be no response at all to seeing Cox come back as Murdock. "I snuck into a movie theater near where I live and literally stood in the corridor... And sadly my experience was it was dead f****** quiet," Cox said. "My wife was with me and she was recording me because it'd be fun to have that moment of everyone cheering, and then... Tumbleweed!"
To further elaborate, Cox didn't automatically go into the movie expecting a strong reaction from the get-go. Before going into that showing, family and friends alerted him beforehand that the fans in their showings were ecstatic to see him again as Daredevil. "It's funny, I got so many text messages and so many calls about that moment in the cinema. My nephew sent me a recording of everyone cheering," Cox recalled. Since it was clear that other fans had such a positive reaction to his cameo, it was only fair to assume it would be more of the same for the screening he visited.
In their defense, since movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are geared mainly at children, perhaps the reason why the reception wasn't as raucous as Cox had anticipated is that children probably haven't watched his adult-themed show on Netflix. Or perhaps Cox went into a showing with fans who had already seen the film that were watching it for the second time. In any case, it is a shame to hear that one of the heroes who was nailed perfectly by the actor who played him didn't get the proper appreciation he deserved when said actor saw it firsthand.
Cox shouldn't get too down about this though. Evidently, his return as Daredevil has fueled speculation that he will be back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the man without fear, which would appease both fans of his Daredevil show on Netflix and Marvel fans in general. Given the abrupt and unceremonious cancellation of his show, Cox definitely deserves another shot at more spotlight and fanfare given how expertly he played Daredevil. If the rumors turn out to be true, the real question is, how would he fit in?
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters and Daredevil will be available on Disney Plus starting March 16, 2022.
Source: Radio Times