"Spider-Man meeting me on the Staten Island Ferry" - Daredevil: Born Again actor Michael Gandolfini expresses hope for crossover

Daredevil: Born Again actor Michael Gandolfini was recently interviewed by Inverse's Lyvie Scott on April 9, 2025. In that interview, the actor touched upon several topics, including the movie Warfare, which stars fellow MCU actors Will Poulter (Adam Warlock) and Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/the Human Torch). The actor expressed hope for a crossover with the wider MCU in this interview.

The actor revealed that if a crossover with his Warfare Co-Star Joseph Quinn does not happen in the MCU, he hoped to appear on screen with the wall-crawler himself. Here's what Michael Gandolfini said in this interview:

“Can we get Spider-Man meeting me on the Staten Island Ferry or something?”

While this was clearly a joke, it comes from a genuine place that a lot of Marvel fans have been feeling for years since Sony and Marvel made their deal to share the rights for Spider-Man. And Daniel Blake actor Michael Gandolfini is not the only Daredevil: Born Again cast member to express hope for a crossover with the Web-Head.

Daredevil: Born Again's Charlie Cox also expressed hope for a crossover with Spider-Man in the past:

Charlie Cox, who plays Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again, was part of a panel at Fan Expo Chicago. In that panel, the actor spoke about being a part of Spider-Man: No Way Home:

“Being in the Spider-Man movie felt like a big step just in terms of a lot of people referencing that when I meet them. I guess you can’t underestimate how much it means when these characters have [a] history in the comics. When we then get to collide onscreen, it really means a lot to the fans, and I get that. I feel that way now as well myself.”

Cox further said:

“So, the Spider-Man thing is such an iconic thing; the idea of Matt Murdock and Peter Parker together is just so iconic. I hope that, in the future, we get to do some more stuff together because that really is fun. That’s the main thing; just that those opportunities can arise.”

Is it possible for Spider-Man to appear in an episode of Daredevil: Born Again?

Simply put, it is impossible that Tom Holland or any live-action Spider-Man can appear in an episode of Daredevil: Born Again. This has to do with rights issues. While Marvel possesses the rights for short-form Spider-Man rights, Sony owns the rights for long-form rights, i.e., over 30 minutes. This is why Sony is currently working on the Spider-Noir series starring Nicholas Cage.

Brad Winderbaum, the Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, put it like this in an interview with Brandon Davis' Phase Hero: A Film & TV Podcast:

"I'm not sure exactly what the rules are, but I think they have long-form television rights at Sony... he [Tom Holland] can do like 30-minute animation, I think."

Hence, this is why Spider-Man can't appear physically in an episode of the ongoing series. However, they might get around it by having the Daredevil: Born Again characters appear in a Spider-Man movie like Charlie Cox appeared in No Way Home.

However, there's one character who can't appear in an MCU movie, Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin. The actor who plays the Marvel villain in Daredevil: Born Again and even the Netflix show revealed in Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast:

"The only thing I know is not positive. It's a very hard thing to do, for Marvel to use my character. It's a very hard thing to do, because of ownership and stuff. Right now, I’m only usable for television series. Different kinds of series, whatever it is, but not even a one-off Fisk movie or anything like that, it’s all caught up in rights and stuff. I don’t know when that would work out, or if it ever would work out at all, actually."

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