A red-headed step child to the Marvel Universe, Daredevil was a character without any real direction until a young artist named Frank Miller collaborated with Klaus Janson in emulating their favorite comic strip, Will Eisner's the Spirit. The film noir-influenced comic book was an instant hit and flew from the shelves as word of mouth spread.
Blinded by radioactive chemicals as a young boy, Matt Murdock was raised by his father who earned a living as a prize fighter at the local gym. When Matt learned that he had acquired new radar senses to replace the sight he had lost, he kept it a secret from his father who wished his son only the best in life as a lawyer. He hit the books hard, but when no one was looking, young Matt Murdock trained to be a prize fighter just like his dad, if not better. When Matt's father refused to throw a bout at the insistence of the local mob, he was silenced. Untouchable by the law, it became clear to Matt Murdock that it may be necessary to play outside of the law as the Daredevil and serve his own brand of justice, with his own two fists.
(More artwork by this artist can be found here)
Daredevil has become one of the biggest cult comic book heroes on the market, with a dedicated following rivaling that of Spider-Man, the Hulk or Batman. When a feature film was announced, fans of old hornhead were ecstatic, yet that joy was short-lived. The movie attempted to encapsulate several periods of the comic book and even pay homage to the legacy of Daredevil and all of the creators who worked on the book, but in the end it felt garish and forced. A valiant attempt with sparks of inspiration, it was marred by poor casting, rushed filming and cheap production values. I hate to bad mouth the film as I know the director had the best of intentions, but even he was let down by the outcome.
The 2003 Daredevil film directed by Mark Steven Johnson (Ghost Rider) was a commercial success and earned a small following who felt that they had finally found their 'Batman' in film. The only thing keeping a long string of sequels from appearing as the reluctance of star Ben Affleck to don the skin tight red leather once more. In March of 2011, Twilight: Eclipse director David Slade was announced as the director for the sequel that would continue the thread of the Daredevil mythos rather than reboot the franchise as has become popular.
The sequel is still mired in rumor and speculation, with the last word being an adaptation of Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli's Born Again story that saw the hero reduced to depravity only to claw his way back up from nothing. Frank Miller was interested as of two years back (when his name was still associated with the hopeful adaptation of the Spirit), but those plans have no doubt fizzled.
This is the middle period of the comic book movie movement and it's still anyone's game. X-Men: First Class showed audiences that you can't keep a good comic book hero down. Maybe it's Daredevil's chance.
Via HeatVision:
With X-Men: First Class having successfully relaunched its X-Men frachise, Fox is turning its attention to the reboot of Daredevil, the blind but sonar-powered Marvel superhero last played on screen by Ben Affleck in 2003.
Brad Caleb Kane, a writer-producer on cult Fox TV show Fringe, has been hired to pen the franchise's relaunch, which has high ambitions: Kane is being asked to adapt one of the most influential and acclaimed comic stories of all time, Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's "Born Again" run from Daredevil.
Fox is tackling the project with Regency.
David Slade is developing and attached to direct the new Daredevil movie. Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark of Chernin Entertainment are producing.
While Kane only has one produced feature to his credit -- he worked on the crime drama Brooklyn's Finest -- the scribe has gained a following around town for that strong script. He worked on DreamWorks' View-Master movie, a Richard Pryor biopic that has Bill Condon attached to direct, and a draft of The Historian, Columbia's planned adaptation of the Elizabeth Kostova vampire novel.
Kane is a Daredevil fan, and his energy and passion for the material helped him nab the job, according to insiders.
Kane is repped by WME and attorney Tara Kole.
Add a comment to this post
