For years, there’s been lots of talk among fans of Marvel’s Netflix TV shows about how they fit into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe… if they do at all. In the early seasons, there were definite references to the films — New York Bulletin reporter Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall) had reported on “The Battle of New York” (as seen in the first Avengers film). Jessica Jones name-dropped “the big green guy and the flag-waver.” Luke Cage also mentioned “the big green guy and his crew.” But the MCU never seemed to notice Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand or the Punisher.

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN HAWKEYE AND SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME.

Part of this came down to real-life corporate politics. Kevin Feige used to be “just” the President of Marvel Studios, but his department apparently didn’t have much communication with the television division. Allegedly, he didn’t like the television division and was interested in continuity with their storylines. But now, in addition to his role with Marvel Studios, he’s also the Chief Creative Officer for Mrarvel Comics, Marvel Television and Marvel Animation. To quote another classic franchise, he became the one boss to rule them all. Now he’s able to oversee story arcs from characters who may go from movies to TV shows back to movies. For instance, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda’s story went from Avengers: Endgame to the Wandavision series on Disney+, and we’ll see her next year in Dr. Strange In The Multiverse of Madness (and she appeared in a post-credits scene after Spider-Man: No Way Home). Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson went from Endgame to the  Falcon and the Winter Soldier series  and we’ll see him next in Captain America 4. 

But within one week in our timeline, we’ve seen two references to the Netflix characters, thrilling fans of those shows. But are the Netflix shows (all of which were canceled) part of the MCU’s canon? Will it turn out that the Netflix shows were part of another, darker, timeline? (If that doesn’t make sense, you should binge-watch Loki.) Time will tell. But here are the characters — and the actors who play them — who we want to see again (and, TBH, two that we’re ok with never seeing again).

• Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist (Finn Jones)

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  We won't dunk on Finn Jones -- he was great as Loras Tyrell in "Game Of Thrones" -- but he just wasn't the right pick for Danny Rand, and he was a controversial choice from the get-go. "Iron Fist" just didn't work. We got one great character out of this series, but sadly, it wasn't Danny Rand.

• Trish Walker (Rachel Taylor)

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  It seemed like the "Jessica Jones" team never really knew what to do with Trish, although they seemed to be leaning towards making her the Hellcat from the comics. But towards the end of the second and final "JJ" season, we were just tired of her.

• Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (Mahershala Ali) and “Black” Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard)

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  Both characters were great villains in the "Luke Cage" series, but both met their demise. Which is convenient, since Mahershala Ali has since been cast as Blade in the vampire killer's upcoming MCU film. Woodard, meanwhile, has also appeared in the MCU - she had a cameo as Miriam Sharpe in "Captain America: Civil War" -- she's the woman who confronted Tony Stark at the elevator. Her casting for that small role demonstrated the lack of communication between Marvel's film division and their Netflix division. On the other hand: the more Alfre Woodard, the better! But RIP to both of these characters.
• “Foggy” Nelson (Elden Henson)

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  Matt Murdock's bestie -- unless they're on the outs. Foggy is also a solid lawyer and someone Marvel could slip into the "She-Hulk" series, since Jennifer (She-Hulk) Walters is also a lawyer.

• Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss)

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  A high powered lawyer who often hires Jessica Jones (she also appeared on Daredevil, Iron Fist and the Defenders). But she and Jessica had a very on/off relationship. Moss was excellent in every scene. She was also Marvel's first openly LGBT character, years before Brian Tyree Henry's Phastos in "The Eternals." Moss is back in the limelight now thanks to her role as Trinity in the new 'Matrix" film, this is the perfect time to bring her back (and "She-Hulk" Jennifer Walters is also a New York based lawyer, it would be a great to see them clash in court).

• Hernan “Shades” Alvarez (Theo Rossi)

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  Marvel will always have cosmic level threats, like Thanos, Loki, and the Kree. But the thing that has always grounded it has been the gritty tales of the criminal underworld. "Shades" from the "Luke Cage" series is now incarcerated, but we'd love to see Rossi's character in more of the street-level Marvel shows and movies.
• Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung)

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  She's died at least once, and maybe twice, in the Netflix universe. But if Matt Murdock survived the end of the Defenders, it's reasonable to think that Elektra may be out there somewhere. However, Yung is now starring as the lead character in Fox's "The Cleaning Lady" so the odds of her being available any time soon seems slim. Still, Elektra is a major part of the Daredevil mythos, and Yung did an incredible job with the role.

• Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll)

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  A main character in both Daredevil and Punisher. Woll is currently revisiting an earlier franchise: she and Kristin Bauer are now co-hosting the 'Truest Blood' podcast. She was iconic in 'True Blood' as Jessica Hamby, but she's also the only person who should play Karen Page.

• Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick)

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  She's the best thing to come out of the Iron Fist series. Jessica Henwick has a geektastic resume: she's played roles in other series, including 'Star Wars' (she played Jessika Pava, a pilot who was a part of the Resistance in 'The Force Awakens') and 'Game Of Thrones' (she was one of the Sand Snakes). And she's also in 'Matrix: Revolutions.' But we want to see more of Colleen Wing in the MCU (preferably teamed with Misty Knight).
• “Misty” Knight (Simone Missick)

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  Missick's "Misty" Knight was a great character... with or without her arm (which she lost in the Defenders series). Danny Rand ended up funding a bionic arm for her, and all signs led to her and "Iron Fist" character Colleen Wing becoming their own team, based on the "Daughters of the Dragon" series. It would be cool to see her replace her Rand Corporation arm with one loaded with Stark Technology. Missick, however, is still starring in the TV drama "All Rise," which was canceled by CBS but has since been picked up by the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN); the third season is scheduled to start in 2022.

• Frank Castle, aka the Punisher (Jon Bernthal)

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  Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson have all played Frank Castle... and all of them did a terrible job. Bernthal, best known for playing Shane from 'The Walking Dead' at the time, just nailed it. But Netflix allowed for more rated-R interpretations of the Marvel characters, and it's hard to see Bernthal's version of the Punisher (or really any version) working in a MCU film or on a Disney+ show. As Bernthal told The Hollywood Reporter, "It needs to [have] a level of darkness. I think if there’s any let up on that character, you do a disservice to the character, to every iteration of the character, to every comic book that’s come before, and to all of the unbelievable fans of the character. This character means so much to people in the military... it’s not about whether you do the character; it’s about whether you can do it right, and I’m only interested in doing it right.” And hey, Marvel's 'Modok' animated series airs on Hulu, since it's not really appropriate for Disney+. So, what's to say that they couldn't put the Punisher on Hulu? Here's hoping that they do.

• Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio)

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  OK, spoiler alert: as of this writing, we know that D'Onofrio's Fisk **is** in the MCU, after his brief appearance in episode 5 of Disney+'s 'Hawkeye.' He had been hinted at, but a photo of Fisk (and D'Onofrio's name in the credits) gave us the MCU's very first acknowledgement of any Netflix character. Is this the same Kingpin from the Netflix shows, or was that a variant? We'll probably find out soon. But Wilson Fisk is a great earth-bound villain and we're curious to see what he did during the Blip.
• Luke Cage (Mike Colter)

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  From the music to the villains to supporting cast to (especially) Mike Colter as Luke Cage, this series really worked. Lots of credit here goes to the showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker. We wish Dr. Strange and Wong could have summoned Cage for the final battle in Avengers' 'Endgame' - he could go toe-to-toe with any of the strongest and toughest Avengers. Colter is currently starring in Paramount+'s 'Evil,' but has said he's open to returning to the role. And Marvel boss Kevin Feige has said that he's interested in having Colter play the Hero for Hire again. Here's hoping it happens. At the end of the series finale of Luke Cage, he was looking like a bad guy, and that was cemented with his cameo in the final episode of 'Jessica Jones.' Would they pick up this storyline, or would they just retcon it? Either way, we'd be glad to see Cage in the MCU, played by Colter.

• Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter)

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  As with the Punisher, it's hard to imagine a Jessica Jones movie or TV show on Disney+. She's inherently a rated R character. She had her own comic book on Marvel's adult-leaning MAX imprint from 2001 - 2004. But when they moved her to the mainstream universe, she just lost what made her so special. Ritter has said she'd be happy to return to the role: "" would absolutely just die to play Jessica again. I had the best time doing it and I just love her so much. I'm so proud of that character. Not only because it was like a great role and she's such a badass, but that character has really resonated with people in a way that I don't know who else has. Really, really resonated with women and girls, trauma survivors. It's just so, so big and such a thing I'm so grateful to have been a part of. So if there's ever an opportunity for me to put on those boots, I will be there in a flash." Hulu - the home of 'Handmaid's Tale' would be a perfect home for a new JJ show. Meanwhile, she's also rumored to be in the upcoming "She-Hulk" series.

• Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil (Charlie Cox)

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  Second spoiler alert: Murdock appeared -- all too briefly -- in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home.' We just saw him as Peter Parker's lawyer, he wore his suit but not his costume. But we -- and Parker -- realized that the blind lawyer has enhanced abilities. We can't wait to see where they take this.
• Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson)

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  Based on the Marvel character the "Night Nurse," Temple was a nurse who helped Murdock, Jones, Cage and Rand in their respective series, and -- like Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury in the early MCU films -- connected all of those series. Dawson was perfectly cast, and she's already on Disney+'s payroll: she played Ahsoka in the Star Wars series 'The Mandalorian' and is getting her own spinoff. But we can definitely see how she could pop up in future Spider-Man films, or other New York based shows and movies. She's our favorite Netflix/Marvel character, and we really hope to see her again.

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