What could have been… With the rights to "Daredevil" now headed back to Marvel this fall after the clock ran out on Fox, it's likely this is the most we're ever going to see of what a grittier, more adult take on the superhero might have been. Director Joe Carnahan wasn't kidding when he said his version was "Serpico styled," and last night he unveiled the sizzle reels he made for the proposed movie which owe a tremendous debt to 1970s cinema.
Mixing comic book panels, footage from a variety of '70s movies (dude seems to love "The Warriors") and clips from the 2003 Ben Affleck starring film, these two sizzle reels — the more violent NC-17 version and the more panel-heavy PG-13 — certainly establish a unique tone. It's actually a pretty exciting little edit of footage, and shows that Carnahan would've taken Daredevil in a direction it hasn't gone in before on the big screen (or superhero movies in general) with an atmosphere of social unrest that is palpable.
However, lest you think Fox was too gunshy on this, it really was the looming deadline that ultimately brought the axe down. "Guys. To clarify. DD pitch was tremendous and everyone flipped for it. The clock ticked down at Fox, that's why it went tits up," Carnahan tweeted.
We're guessing this unlike anything Marvel will eventually do with the character, since it's not the kind of stuff that moves toys and comics the way a more broadly appealing version might. That said, if they take the character to television, they might have a bit more room to play, freed from the expectations of tentpole, box office numbers and fitting into the established Marvel movie universe. Anyway, give it a look below and tell us what you think of Carahan's vision for Matt Murdock. [Comic Book Therapy]
