Jessica Jones’ MCU Return Has Just Become Way More Likely After Marvel Decided Not To Have Her Back In The MCU’s First 2025 Release

Jessica Jones was almost in Marvel Studios’ first 2025 release, and her return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe has now become more likely. Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones was one of the main characters of Netflix’s The Defenders Saga. Leading her own show for three seasons, she tied Charlie Cox’s Daredevil as the longest-running Marvel series on Netflix. However, Ritter is one of the many stars from that part of the MCU who have yet to return to the franchise, while Cox leads Daredevil: Born Again‘s cast, which features some exciting Netflix returns.

Daredevil, Kingpin, the Punisher, and more characters from The Defenders Saga return in the MCU’s next TV show, Daredevil: Born Again. Ritter’s work as Jessica Jones in her solo show and in the team-up limited series The Defenders showed that she has what it takes to be an interesting player in the MCU. Since the Netflix shows were only tangentially connected to the franchise, Jessica Jones never got to interact with her best friend from the comics, Captain Marvel, and other Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man. However, the MCU could be rectifying that mistake soon.

Jessica Jones Almost Returned In Marvel’s First 2025 Series

The Character Would Have Been Very Different

While Daredevil: Born Again is the first MCU series of 2025, Marvel Studios released a show about one of its biggest characters before Charlie Cox’s return as Matt Murdock. Disney+’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an animated series that focuses on an alternate version of the MCU. As such, different versions of beloved characters like Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Daredevil appear. Jessica Jones was almost in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. The hero would have made her return under Marvel Studios as one of Peter Parker’s classmates, de-aged to it the part, as showrunner Jeff Trammell told ComicBook.com.

Instead of de-aging Jessica Jones, Marvel decided to use Nico Minoru as Peter Parker’s best friend. Whether Krysten Ritter would have returned to voice this new version of Jessica is uncertain. However, since the character would have been a high-schooler, a different actress would have made sense. That would have been somewhat of a problem, as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man brought back Charlie Cox to voice Daredevil. As such, having two very different versions of Jessica Jones and Daredevil, with Cox returning and Ritter not, would have been distracting.

Krysten Ritter Has Made Jessica Jones’ MCU Return More Likely

The Street-Level Hero Could Be Making A Comeback Soon

Jessica Jones might not have appeared in Marvel Studios’ first 2025 project, but it seems like she could be connected to the MCU’s first TV show starring a character from Netflix’s The Defenders Saga. On Instagram (via @krystenupdates1/Twitter), Ritter revealed that she was going to New York City on Thursday, February 27th. Interestingly, while promoting the release of Daredevil: Born Again season 1, Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming, Brad Winderbaum, claimed that the second season of the MCU series, which will be released in 2026, was set to start filming on Friday, February 28th.

Ritter has long been rumored to return as Jessica Jones in Daredevil: Born Again. However, differently from Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, the Netflix Marvel character was not spotted on the set of the MCU series. With her going to New York City, where Daredevil: Born Again season 2 is now filming, it sure seems like the actress could finally be returning as Jessica Jones. While Ritter could also be in NYC to film Dexter: Resurrection, where she will play Lady Vengeance, her role in the series is for a guest arc. As such, she has time for Daredevil: Born Again.

Why Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Is Perfect For Jessica Jones’ MCU Return

The Marvel Heroes Have Met In The Past

Daredevil: Born Again season 1 is already responsible for quite a few returns of characters from the original Netflix series. Among them is Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, who also led his own series in Netflix’s The Defenders Saga. That opens the door for Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones and the rest of the Defenders to return. Since Matt Murdock goes to Frank Castle looking for help, the same could happen for Jessica Jones’ MCU return. Her skills as a P.I. could prove valuable to Matt Murdock’s work as a lawyer.

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In The Defenders, Jessica Jones and Daredevil had a fun banter and great chemistry, so Marvel could look at exploring that angle with Ritter and Cox again in the MCU. Adding to it, Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming, Brad Winderbaum, claimed to ComicBook.com that “collisions are inevitable” when talking about how the other Defenders were living somewhere in the MCU’s New York City. Those comments, how Daredevil: Born Again honors its Netflix characters, and the timing of Ritter’s post all make it seem like Jessica Jones could be returning to the MCU in 2026 with Daredevil: Born Again season 2.