Daredevil & The Defenders Complete Timeline: What Order To Watch
The Defenders and its connected Netflix TV shows are more vital to the Marvel Cinematic Universe than ever before, so here is their definitive watch order. The ending of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 made this more clear than ever, with Jessica Jones and Luke Cage officially back in the MCU. Only Iron Fist is yet to appear officially, but it’s hard to imagine that the future doesn’t have a place for him. After all, Daredevil: Born Again season 3 is on the horizon. With Luke Cage, Iron Fist’s best friend, back on the scene, the Defenders will likely be reunited sooner rather than later. Although the upcoming MCU stories involving them will surely be easy to follow without having seen their prior Netflix shows, there is a wealth of backstory concerning each character, and with so many interweaving storylines already present in the MCU, it can be difficult to keep track of them.
Luckily, there is a definitive watch order for all of the Netflix Marvel shows, which now bleed over into recent MCU stories. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one such movie that will tie to characters from The Defenders, with several more sure to follow in the coming years. With that in mind, here is how to familiarize yourself with every story told concerning the Defenders in the last decade, from season 1 of Netflix’s Daredevil all the way up to the recent soft reboots
How To Watch Netflix’s The Defenders In Order
Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones and Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil on The DefendersImage via Netflix
The best way to watch Netflix’s Defenders saga is in release order. As was the case with the various MCU movies being released at the time, the Netflix shows were created to be interconnected; each individual installment makes references to or directly connects to others. While it could be tempting to watch all three seasons of Daredevil back-to-back, all Jessica Jones installments in quick succession, or the same for both seasons of Luke Cage and Iron Fist, some plot points or character dynamics were resolved or referenced in other shows first. That said, the release order of the Netflix shows is as follows:
Daredevil Season 1 (April 10, 2015)
Jessica Jones Season 1 (November 20, 2015)
Daredevil Season 2 (March 18, 2016)
Luke Cage Season 1 (September 30, 2016)
Iron Fist Season 1 (March 17, 2017)
The Defenders Season 1 (August 18, 2017)
The Punisher Season 1 (November 17, 2017)
Jessica Jones Season 2 (March 8, 2018)
Luke Cage Season 2 (June 22, 2018)
Iron Fist Season 2 (September 7, 2018)
Daredevil Season 3 (October 19, 2018)
The Punisher Season 2 (January 18, 2019)
Jessica Jones Season 3 (June 14, 2019)
To further reinforce why this order is the best to watch the Netflix Defenders shows, one character, Claire Temple, appears in all but one of them. Claire offers connective tissue in this sense, referencing the other heroes and storylines as she goes. Moreover, Jessica Jones season 1 introduces Luke Cage, while Daredevil season 2 provides The Punisher’s backstory. Of course, some seasons can easily be watched independently, but their intentional crafting as parts of a larger whole means they are best viewed in release order. Since Marvel Studios began acknowledging Netflix’s The Defenders saga as canon, that side of the universe has begun to be fleshed out. Hawkeye season 1 reintroduced Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, Daredevil’s main villain, to the MCU, while Spider-Man: No Way Home did the same for Daredevil himself. Echo and Daredevil: Born Again then utilized these characters further, truly solidifying them as MCU mainstays and adding two more shows, in that respective order, to the Defenders saga’s release order.
How To Watch The Defenders Saga Within The MCU Timeline
Daredevil and Jessica Jones in Daredevil: Born Again season 2Image courtesy of JoJo Whilden/Disney
After confirming that the Defenders saga was part of the MCU’s canon, Disney+ released a version of the complete collection that revealed where each Netflix season would fit into the franchise’s chronological timeline. Upcoming MCU projects, from Daredevil: Born Again season 3 to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the latter of which is confirmed to feature The Punisher, will only add to this. Thankfully, Disney+’s timeline makes watching each season of The Defenders saga in conjunction with the other MCU movies and shows much easier than it was when no one knew whether the former projects were canon or not. Based on the Disney+ timeline, it has been confirmed that the entire Defenders saga takes place in Phase 3 alone; Phase 3, pre-Avengers: Endgame’s timeskip, takes place across four years in-universe, between the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers: Infinity War.
Show Name
Season
Place In MCU Timeline
Daredevil
Season 1
After Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Jessica Jones
Season 1
After Daredevil Season 1
Daredevil
Season 2
After Jessica Jones Season 1
Luke Cage
Season 1
After Daredevil Season 2
Iron Fist
Season 1
After Luke Cage Season 1
The Defenders
Miniseries
After Iron Fist Season 1
The Punisher
Season 1
After The Defenders and Spider-Man: Homecoming
Jessica Jones
Season 2
After The Punisher Season 1, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Doctor Strange
Luke Cage
Season 2
After Jessica Jones Season 2
Iron Fist
Season 2
After Luke Cage Season 2
Daredevil
Season 3
After Iron Fist Season 2
The Punisher
Season 2
After Daredevil Season 3 andThor: Ragnarok
Jessica Jones
Season 3
After The Punisher Season 2, before Avengers: Infinity War
Jessica Jones season 3 and The Punisher season 2 marked the end of the initial Netflix slate of Marvel shows. Shortly after both installments, in-universe, Avengers: Infinity War happened, and Thanos removed 50% of all life in the galaxy. The next time any of these Defenders characters are referenced is after Avengers: Endgame, five years after Infinity War. The aforementioned projects, Hawkeye, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Echo, and Daredevil: Born Again, featured the first appearance of these characters post-Endgame. Therefore, this means it is still unclear what happened to Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and The Punisher between Infinity War and Endgame. This gives future installments of the MCU involving Netflix’s Defenders characters much to explore, as most were last seen before Thanos’ attack. Whether these events will be referenced, however, is unclear, especially given the lack of Infinity War tie-ins in the first two seasons of Daredevil: Born Again.
How The Defenders Fit Into The MCU
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil in a street in Daredevil: Born Again season 1Photo courtesy of Marvel Television
With both the chronological and release orders of the Netflix shows mapped out in conjunction with the wider MCU, it is worth exploring how some of the characters from the former have already fit into the latter. The shows themselves are mostly self-contained, though they contain more vague references to wider MCU plot points. For instance, Loki’s invasion from 2012’s The Avengers is mentioned in several shows, while heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, and Hulk are also referenced. Beyond that, though, the main MCU connections were saved until after Jessica Jones season 3, when the Netflix shows were fully enveloped in the franchise’s canon. Daredevil’s MCU connections were renewed with an appearance as Peter Parker’s lawyer in Spider-Man: No Way Home and with a short stint in She-Hulk, where he got a new suit and was the titular hero’s love interest for a couple of episodes. He also appeared briefly to battle Maya Lopez in Echo. Kingpin has had a similar MCU journey post-Avengers: Endgame. He appeared in an extended cameo role as the secret big bad of Hawkeye. Echo continued this, with the titular hero being Maya Lopez, Kingpin’s adoptive daughter, who also appeared in Hawkeye. Echo fleshed out Maya’s backstory with Kingpin, with the show’s end credits scene teasing more to come from Wilson Fisk. This scene implied Fisk would be running in New York’s mayoral campaign, which came to fruition in Daredevil: Born Again seasons 1 and 2.
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Daredevil: Born Again acts as a direct continuation of Daredevil season 3 from the original Defenders saga, though it can be viewed without prior knowledge. However, Daredevil: Born Again would lose some of its emotional resonance without having seen Daredevil before it. The series picks up years after Daredevil season 3, with the time between still mostly unexplored for now. Matt Murdock, Karen Page, and Foggy Nelson are all shown working together as partners at their law firm before a tragic incident sets Matt on a new path as Daredevil. This brings him into conflict with villains like Muse and, of course, Kingpin, who pushes his agenda over New York using his newfound political power. Daredevil: Born Again seasons 1 and 2 continue many character arcs and storylines from the original Daredevil, be it Matt Murdock himself, his allies like Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, The Punisher, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, or his enemies: Wilson Fisk, Vanessa Fisk, and Benjamin Poindexter/Bullseye. Where Frank Castle is concerned, his solo MCU journey continued in May 2026 with The Punisher: One Last Kill. The special, released as a 50-minute short film on Disney+, continues The Punisher’s story after Daredevil: Born Again season 1 while also serving as a prelude to Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It chronicles Frank’s transition from a man bent on revenge for his family’s deaths to a vigilante who saves the innocent in increasingly brutal fashion, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day detailing his next steps in the MCU as a Defenders continuation.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 Will Connect To The Defenders
Daredevil: Born Again season 1 was a rather personal season for Matt Murdock. Yes, it contained some wider Defenders characters like The Punisher, but it largely centered on characters introduced in Daredevil’s three Netflix seasons. As such, no other Defenders characters appeared in season 1, but the same cannot be said for Daredevil: Born Again season 2’s story. Kristen Ritter had a big role in the final few episodes of that installment as Jessica Jones. Jessica was targeted by Mr. Charles, a CIA operative, after the former almost uncovered his links to Wilson Fisk’s illicit operations. Before that, Charles tried to enlist Jessica for some overseas superhero operations, which she declined. As revealed in the finale of Daredevil: Born Again season 2, Luke Cage did not. However, as of the final moments of the show, Luke returned home to be with Jess and raise their daughter, with Bullseye taking his place as Charles’ mercenary. This sets up Daredevil: Born Again season 3, which is all but guaranteed to further develop the stories of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage alongside the titular vigilante. After all, the showrunner and executive producer, Dario Scardapane, had this to say about Luke’s return in Daredevil: Born Again: “It was truly a bit last-minute, and we wanted a bit of a surprise, and we were thinking about potentially things we wanted to do for season three, and Luke Cage was just a very great little button.” What exactly this means for season 3 remains to be seen. For now, though, it is safe to say Jessica and Luke will continue on in the show. This will more than likely lead to Finn Jones’ return as Iron Fist, bringing back the full roster of The Defenders in the current MCU. As has been confirmed in recent news stories, another major character from Daredevil and The Defenders will return in season 3 of Daredevil: Born Again: Elektra.
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Several set photos and videos have confirmed the return of Élodie Yung as Elektra, Matt’s former lover and a vigilante in her own right. Elektra was first introduced in Daredevil season 2 before seemingly dying near the end, before being resurrected by The Hand in The Defenders. Elektra then faced off against the titular team before regaining her memories of her relationship with Matt. A building then collapsed on the two, leading into Matt’s story in Daredevil season 3.
A big focus of Matt’s journey in that show was overcoming his grief over Elektra’s supposed death. However, Elektra’s body was never found, raising questions and theories alike about whether she may have survived. Evidently, as Daredevil: Born Again season 3’s set photos seem to confirm, she did. How Elektra ties into proceedings is yet to be confirmed, but she is the latest of many Defenders characters to reappear in the MCU.
What The MCU’s Future Holds For The Defenders
The Punisher firing a gun alongside Spider-Man in Brand New Day
With Daredevil: Born Again season 2 reintroducing Jessica Jones and Luke Cage to the MCU, the question of whether they could appear in other projects beyond that is raised. Many were disappointed that Netflix cut short the exciting stories of these characters, specifically Iron Fist and Luke Cage, who each had only two seasons. After Daredevil: Born Again’s success, Luke Cage season 3 could be greenlit in the future of the MCU, as could another Jessica Jones solo story. This is without mentioning their continued roles in Daredevil: Born Again season 3, which could become a pseudo-Defenders series featuring all of them in a big way. If Iron Fist comes back, the possibility of season 3 of his show, or even a standalone Heroes for Hire show centered on him and Luke Cage, is increased. Finally, The Punisher has his own MCU future planned. As alluded to several times, Bernthal is returning as The Punisher in the story of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Moreover, that film is set to introduce The Hand to the mainstream MCU. The Hand was the primary antagonist of Daredevil season 2 and The Defenders, though haven’t appeared in any other MCU projects. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is evidently changing that, with The Hand appearing in the movie’s trailers. Exactly how they factor into Peter Parker’s story is unclear, but the group’s appearance alone continues to prove that Netflix’s Defenders timeline is only becoming increasingly vital to the MCU. Thus, the proper watch order, future, and possible continuations are more important to imprint into the mind than ever.
Release Date
2017 – 2017-00-00
Network
Netflix
Showrunner
Marco Ramirez, Douglas Petrie
Directors
S.J. Clarkson, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Peter Hoar, Phil Abraham, Stephen Surjik, Uta Briesewitz
Writers
Douglas Petrie, Marco Ramirez, Drew Goddard, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
Diterbitkan : 2026-07-10 01:00:00
sumber : screenrant.com
