Would-be Daredevil director Joe Carnahan recently tweeted that his "Serpico-styled" take on the blind superhero was just about dead, so this next bit of news doesn't come as much of a surprise. But in case there was any doubt about it, various outlets are now reporting that the Daredevil rights will indeed revert back to Marvel Studios (which is part of Disney).
Earlier this month, Fox and Marvel had considered striking a deal to give the former more time to get a Daredevil adaptation together. However, that request has since been denied, which means Fox would've had to push Daredevil into production by October 10 in order to retain the rights. That became a virtual impossibility when they decided not to move forward with Carnahan's vision. To offer a little taste of what might've been, however, Carnahan has posted a couple of sizzle reels from his version. Watch the videos and read more about the Daredevil rights after the jump.
Variety writes that Daredevil will be back in Marvel Studios' stable sometime after Fox's October deadline passes. For the past several years, Marvel has fully financed its own superhero films. However, a handful of its characters (including Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the X-Men) had already been licensed out to other studios before that. A few other characters have returned to Marvel's control recently, including the Punisher.
There's always the possibility that Marvel will decide to let Carnahan make his Daredevil once they have the rights back, but I wouldn't hold my breath. It's really too bad. Carnahan had intended to work from Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Born Again storyline, which sees the hero taking some dark turns. After Matt Murdock's pal sells out his Daredevil identity in exchange for drugs, the Kingpin uses the information to try and destroy Murdock's life.
For now, we'll just have to content ourselves with the two sizzle pieces Carnahan uploaded this week. The filmmaker took to Twitter to explain what had happened to his plans ("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.") and then posted links to his videos. The first one below is described by Carnhan as NC-17 for violence, while the second one is identified as a "less violent" PG-13 version.
This should really go without saying, but keep in mind that NC-17 strongly implies NSFW:
- Joe Carnahan's '70s Thriller Take on 'Daredevil' May Have "Gone Up in Smoke"
- Joe Carnahan May Direct 'Daredevil;' Marvel Considering Allowing Fox More Reboot Time in Exchange for Galactus
- Reports of Fox Trading Galactus to Marvel May Be Premature, But Daredevil Could Still Go Back to Marvel
- TV Bits: 'American Horror Story', 'Friday Night Lights', 'Area 51′, Joe Carnahan, Vince Gilligan
- Josh Trank Officially Set for 'Fantastic Four,' David Slade Drops Off 'Daredevil'
- Rumor Control: 'Daredevil' Won't Be in 3D, Probably Won't Star Josh Hartnett
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