'Daredevil' Reboot Has a Writer and Director; Xavier Samuel of 'Twilight' May Star
by: Sean Comer Posted:
I like this idea. I just hate whose fingerprints are all over it.
It appears that 20th Century Fox has a writer, director and potentially a lead on board for their reboot of Marvel Comics’ “Daredevil.” The studio’s previous attempt at bringing the blinded Man Without Fear to the big screen in 2003 starred Ben Affleck as the crimson vigilante, Jennifer Garner as assassin/heroine Elektra, Colin Farrell in a show-stealing turn as deranged super-marksman Bullseye and Michael Clarke Duncan as the massive Kingpin, and it failed at the box office, with critics and hardest with fans.
The Hollywood Reporter now claims today that “Fringe” writer and avid “Daredevil” fan Brad Caleb Kane is at work penning a script based on Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s “Born Again” comic arc.
Xavier Samuel of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” is rumored to be in the running to play Daredevil.
The “Born Again” arc tells the tale of Matt Murdock – Daredevil’s alter-ego – reuniting with lost love Karen Page, now a heroin-addicted adult film star who has sold out his identity as the Man Without Fear. The Kingpin gets his hands on the information and takes the fight not to Daredevil, but to Matt Murdock by destroying his personal life.
It’s a dark, complex story fraught with human drama that if translated properly, could make a gripping flick – assuming Fox doesn’t mind an R-rated superhero movie, because one just can’t do right by this story with anything less. But being written by a fan who will do his best to protect the character’s legacy? That’s the part I like.
It’s also great to hear that David Slade (“30 Days of Night”) has been tapped to direct. “30 Days Of Night” shows that he can certainly handle not just adapting comic storylines and graphic novels in general, but something as grim as a great “Daredevil” story has to be.
I’m dubious about the rest of the people involved. First off, three out of five great “X-Men” movies notwithstanding, Fox has flopped with nearly every Marvel property they’ve tried adapting, especially “Fantastic Four” and “Ghost Rider” – both of which, unfortunately, are also set for reboot treatments.
