Warning: The following contains possible spoilers for season two of "Daredevil" and "Captain America: Civil War."
"Captain America: Civil War" is less than a year away, which means fans are going into hyper drive trying to dissect the film from a far. One major plot point that's been at the center of speculation has been the initial spark that divides the superhero community. After all, why would all these good guys start squaring off against each other?
In the comic book, a callow superhero team inadvertently causes the death of countless civilians during a rescue mission gone wrong. In the film, it's been rumored that something relatively similar - a superhero event that results in collateral damage - will take place. But what will that event be?
With season two of the hit Netflix series "Daredevil" set to be released shortly before "Civil War" and the R-rated nature of the show, some have theorized that the event in question could be introduced on the small screen first.
"...it's entirely possible that Marvel will aim to keep the events of Civil War (including its origins) contained within the movie's running time," Kit Simpson Browne of Movie Pilot wrote. "That, though, doesn't mean that Daredevil couldn't still be involved - or that his eponymous show couldn't feature the events in question too. After all, there's no reason why Daredevil season 2 couldn't end with a major disaster on the scale of the comic books' Stamford explosion, which could then also feature in the early moments of Captain America: Civil War.
"If, say, The Punisher, Elektra, Daredevil and Bullseye all got involved in a major firefight in Hell's Kitchen, there's every chance it could end very, very badly-and that the vigilante likes of Daredevil and The Punisher would be blamed. What's more, with their super heroism limited to a small area, and utilizing far more violent tactics than, say, the Avengers, the crime-fighters would likely garner a whole lot less public sympathy when things went wrong."
Are events likely to unfold this way? No. Thus far, Marvel Studios has shown little interest in blending their film and television properties beyond a few passing references. However, studio head Kevin Feige recently said that it's inevitable that the MCU films will start cross-pollinating with the television side more. The universal success of "Daredevil" seems to be as safe of a launching pad for that effort as any.
"Captain America: Civil War" hits theaters on May 6, 2016.
