As we’re still an entire year from seeing Matt Murdock’s return in Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again, the character is still making waves that may affect the Sacred Timeline. According to IGN, Marvel executive Brad Winderbaum (Thor: Love and Thunder, Werewolf By Night) recently alluded that Charlie Cox’s (Treason, Kin) Daredevil is considered canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

During an interview with ScreenRant, Winderbaum stated, “I can say that up until this point, we’ve been a little bit cagey about what’s Sacred Timeline, what’s not Sacred Timeline. But now that some time has passed; now that we see actually how well integrated the stories are, I think that I personally, Brad Winderbaum, would be confident in saying it is part of the Sacred Timeline.”

This acknowledgment of Daredevil being in the same universe as its cinematic counterparts goes against what fans have known since the Netflix series’ inception. Debuting in 2015, Daredevil was part of a grounded universe separate from what was happening to the more super-abled beings in Marvel’s colossal narrative. Starring Cox as the blind vigilante and Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket, The Cell) as his adversary, Kingpin, Daredevil went on to spawn four other spin-offs: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher, and Iron Fist. Within their universe, the five characters crossed over in their version of Endgame, The Defenders. Two years later, the universe would end as Disney’s purchase of Marvel canceled the series.

When news of the character’s return first surfaced, many fans were disappointed that it would not be a continuation of the original three-season run. And Cox’s appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was a sign that the mature version of Daredevil was no more. Winderbaum detailed the reason they chose to keep the lore separate.

“That was born of, frankly, a period at the studio where we were like, ‘We have to stick the landing with the vendors.’ It was another part of the company developing the Netflix stuff,” Winderbaum stated via IGN. “We were aware of what they were doing, they were aware of what we were doing, but there was a lot to balance anyway.”

Today, as any day in the multiverse, things have allegedly changed. In addition to Winderbaum’s statement, a new trailer for the Spotlight Banner series, Echo, makes a stronger case that Netflix’s Daredevil is indeed canon. The new “Hurt” trailer features footage from the original series and Hawkeye as D’Onofrio’s Kingpin narrates his life story. He and Cox will appear in Echo on Disney+ and Hulu on January 9. View the trailer below.

According to IGN, if Daredevil is now canon, it would be safe to assume the other four characters are also part of the MCU. And with rumors that Jessica Jones’ Krysten Ritter (Orphan Black: Echoes, Love & Death) is set for Daredevil: Born Again, it will just be a matter of time before all the Hell’s Kitchen crew is reunited.

All the Netflix Marvel series are available to stream on Disney+.