Daredevil: 8 Things You Didn't Know About The Series
Learn more about the long journey it took to bring The Man Without Fear to the small screen in Netflix's Daredevil, now available on Disney+.
After a long period of silence, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil has finally found a new home on Disney+. Debuting on Netflix in 2015 as the first in a series of interconnected shows, including Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, Daredevil set the stage for top-quality televisual entertainment from Marvel. Despite not being produced by Marvel Studios, Daredevil now finds itself on Disney+ along with every other MCU property.
The potential for Daredevil to return to some other MCU project has been increasing for months now since his MCU debut in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Whether this will be a full reboot of the character, a soft reboot, or an appearance in another Marvel Studios project remains to be seen. Until then, re-watch the three-season run of the hit show that is quite possibly one of the best Marvel projects ever produced, and learn more about the long journey it took to bring The Man Without Fear to the small screen.
One of the most iconic parts of Matt Murdock’s comic-book character is his signature red hair. Being one of the only red-haired superheroes, it seems only right that the creators of the show would attempt to bring this to life. However, when Daredevil premiered in 2015, Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock didn’t sport the trademark red hair of his comic-book counterpart.
During an interview at Dragon Con in 2016, Cox was asked about the decision to not dye his hair for the role. He stated that they tried it and it “looked really weird.” Even if he doesn’t embody this aspect of his comic-book counterpart, few can argue that Cox isn't perfect in the role of Matt Murdock.
The Daredevil film, starring Ben Affleck, was made in a different era of superhero movies. Released in 2003 and heavily inspired by the leather fetishism and action style of The Matrix and the X-Men movies, Daredevil dramatically failed on a number of fronts. While Daredevil may not be as bad as people remember (the Director’s Cut is arguably a vast improvement over the theatrical release), there is no doubt that the Daredevil series is superior in every way.
In preparation for his role as Matt Murdock, Charlie Cox avoided watching the 2003 movie adaptation. Cox did eventually watch the movie after the first season landed on Netflix, and admits that while he doesn't think the movie worked, he did like Ben Affleck's Matt Murdock. In an interview at Middle East Film and Comic Con (via Youtube), Cox revealed that he thought Affleck did a good job, but was let down by a bloated cast and a terrible Daredevil costume.
Daredevil was created for television by Drew Goddard, who was also set to serve as showrunner for the first season. However, he dropped out of this role and was replaced by Steven DeKnight before the show premiered (via Collider). Goddard’s reason for leaving the show was nothing to do with creative differences with Marvel. Goddard landed the job of making Sony’s Sinister Six movie, which was set to be part of Sony's then Spider-Man universe.
Announced alongside The Amazing Spider-Man 3 & 4 back in 2014 before the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, The Sinister Six was Sony’s big move to unite their villainous characters in a villain team-up. Ultimately, none of this would come to pass. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 underperformed, leading to a reboot of the character with Marvel Studios. Goddard’s Sinister Six movie was one of the causalities of the whole debacle.
Fans of Marvel will no doubt be familiar with The Daily Bugle, led by the infamous J. Jonah Jameson. The Daily Bugle operates in New York City and is a key part of the Spider-Man mythos, though it often crosses over with other New York heroes, including Daredevil.
One of the original plans for Daredevil included using The Daily Bugle instead of The New York Bulletin for the professional home of investigative journalist Ben Urich. Showrunner Steven DeKnight confirmed the fact in a Tweet. Ultimately, because of rights issues with Sony over the inclusion of Spider-Man-related elements, The Daily Bugle was off-limits. The Daily Bugle would eventually return as an InfoWars style online news outlet in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Charlie Cox's portrayal of the blind lawyer Matt Murdock is nothing short of phenomenal. Cox perfectly captures all the nuances of playing an individual with blindness, with many small details going unnoticed by fans, such as the way Matt hands someone a folded note in episode one at Fogwell's Gym. Folding notes is something that blind people often do to denote different denominations, particularly in the United States where all notes are the same size.
Cox worked with a blindness consultant for the role to ensure his portrayal was as accurate as possible. The resulting performance earned Cox an award (via Variety) from the American Foundation for the Blind. The organization honored Cox for his depiction of the blind superhero which was deemed important representation for people with disabilities in film and TV.
A more subtle reference that may have gone unnoticed by the Marvel uninitiated, but there's a familiar New York City location from 2002's Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire, that makes a reappearance in Daredevil.
In episode 10, titled "Nelson v. Murdock," Wilson Fisk meets Madame Gao atop a rooftop garden. This is the same spot where Spider-Man drops Mary Jane after saving her from the Green Goblin during the Goblin's first appearance in the movie.
Instead of taking inspiration from other comic-book superhero movies or television shows, showrunner Steven DeKnight took inspiration from some of the best 1970s crime dramas like The French Connection and Taxi Driver when crafting the world of Daredevil.
DeKnight explained in an interview (via EW) that he wanted the world of Daredevil to feel gritty and grounded, unlike the the standard MCU movies. In the same interview, former Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb added "There aren’t going to be people flying through the sky. There are no magic hammers."
Daredevil has always had a close relationship with the character of Spider-Man. Both heroes hail from New York City and have frequently collaborated in comic-books, animated TV shows, and most recently had their first live-action meeting in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Daredevil contains a nod to the two most famous adopters of the Spider-Man mantle: Peter Parker and Miles Morales.
In the season 3 episode "One Last Shot," a promotional poster for a boxing match can be spotted in the background of Fogwell's gym, advertising a fight between Parker and Morales. Whether we see Daredevil crossover with Spider-Man again in the future is something fans will need to wait patiently for.