Daredevil film rights revert to Marvel

Despite being one of Marvel’s most beloved and endearing characters, comic book superhero Daredevil hasn’t had much luck on the big screen. But with news that The Man Without Fear is back in the hands of the company that created him, that could change very soon.

While on the “Iron Man 3” press tour, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told comic book news site Newsarama that the movie rights to New York City-based superhero Daredevil had finally reverted to the studio. Twentieth Century Fox, the previous rights-holders, controlled the cinematic iteration of the character for more than a decade, but lost those rights back in October after several abortive attempts to reboot the movie. Marvel made no official announcement at the time, so this is the first official word fans have that Daredevil is now playing in the big leagues with characters like Tony Stark and the Avengers.

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Most comic book fans and moviegoers have done their best to wipe memories of the 2003 “Daredevil” movie clean, but if you can stomach the thought, you’ll remember that the Manhattan crime fighter was part of the first generation of movies based on Marvel Comics characters and was played by Ben Affleck. You may also remember that the film did not enjoy nearly the same level of critical or financial success that movies like “X-Men,” and “Spider-Man” did.

Not only was “Daredevil” panned by most reviewers, but the $78 million film barely made back its budget with a relatively measly $102 million box office take. Indeed, the only good thing to come out of the film was probably the happy coupling of Affleck and co-star Jennifer Garner (and even that didn't happen until a few years after the movie came out). Affleck briefly reprised the Matt Murdock role for a cameo in Garner’s 2005 spin-off movie “Elektra,” but decided to hang up the character’s trademark batons for good when Fox expressed little interest in a full-fledged follow-up.

The follow-up almost came to fruition (sans Affleck) late last summer when “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” director David Slade was attached to helm a reboot for the studio. However, Slade exited the project at the eleventh hour due to delays with the TV series “Hannibal,” which he is a director and executive producer on. “A-Team” director Joe Carnahan volunteered his services, and even pitched Fox on a hard-boiled 1970s-set Daredevil movie in the vein of “The Warriors” and “Serpico,” but his overtures were rebuffed by the studio due to the looming rights deadline.

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Perhaps Carnahan will get the chance to make that movie with Daredevil now that it's safely in the official Marvel movie stable, but the more interesting prospect is the potential for cameos or crossovers in the upcoming slate of Marvel superhero flicks.

While he’s always been a bit of a lone wolf character, Daredevil has been around since the early 1960s -- meaning that he’s basically had run-ins, battles, or team-ups with every Marvel character in existence. Over the years and comic book pages, the red-suited hero has worked with organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, so why should movies featuring those particular groups be any different? It’s a little difficult to imagine where Daredevil might fit into the proceedings at this point, but given the character’s history and enduring popularity, it’s hard to imagine that Marvel would waste the opportunity to fold him in there somewhere. A small “Avengers 2” cameo leading to a standalone movie, or a bigger role in a sequel? Hey, it worked for Nick Fury and Hawkeye!