There are a couple of significant developments in the world of entertainment news that are shaping the cinematic and television landscape significantly and they can both be seen in the development of the latest comic book adaptation, Marvel’s Daredevil. The first of these is that Marvel’s popularity has never been higher than it is right now thanks to a stream of incredible successful movie releases. This has allowed them to branch out into the realm of TV series production, including Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter, which have themselves been fairly successful.
The second development is that big online media subscription companies like Netflix are working harder than ever to get exclusive access to audience grabbing shows, which is why the new adventure series has been developed just for them. From the look of the gritty trailer below, it’s clear that this is going to be a long way away from the Ben Affleck train crash that was the Daredevil movie and could be another big bridge to what is looking more and more like an on-demand future for TV in general and the further growth of Netflix’s audience figures.
Air date
The new TV show has been confirmed for an air date on Netflix on the 10th April 2015, but it’s opting to go for a big bang release with all thirteen episodes being made available all at once, putting you in charge of how you watch the show right from the get go. This is a big change from the norm of serialisation that we’re more used to from television series that are aired weekly and daily, and it opens up more of a flexible option in terms of viewing. If you want to watch them all back-to-back, you’ll be able to fill your boots on day one, or if you want to watch a couple a night, or any available combination, again you’ll be able to with the relatively new format.
Storyline
We’re willing to bet that most of you will be familiar with the general plot of Marvel’s Daredevil, but for anyone new to the comic book series, the basic premise is that a blind lawyer called Matt Murdoch uses the super senses he’s built up to fight crime in New York City. Not only has his hearing become phenomenally sharp since going blind as a child, but he’s also developed some pretty impressive fight moves, got an improved sense of smell and can feel things through vibrations around him, so he’s got more than enough skills to at least give him a chance of success against the organised crime of the Big Apple and its Kingpin leader.
Cast
Matt Murdoch/Daredevil will be played by British actor, Charlie Cox, who you might recognise as Tristan Thorne in the fantasy movie, Stardust and from his role as Owen Sleater in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. He’s joined by Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood) as his love interest, Karen Page, along with Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, and Rosario Dawson (Sin City: A Dame To Kill For) as nurse Claire Temple.
The cast is rounded off by Vincent D’Onofrio (Charlie Countryman, Jurassic World) as the menacing businessman Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin, and Scott Glenn (Sucker Punch) as Daredevil’s martial arts mentor Stick, plus Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Marianna, Toby Leonard Moore as Wesley, Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsley, Vondie Curtis-Hall as Ben Urich.
Production
The new series has been developed for Netflix by screenwriter, director and producer Drew Goddard whose back catalogue includes episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel and Lost, as well as Cloverfield, The Cabin In The Woods, World War Z and The Martian. Marvel’s Daredevil has been produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and executive produced by Steven S. DeKnight, Goddard and Jeph Loeb (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel’s Agent Carter).
First impressions
With Goddard’s history of heavy action, thrills and gore, we’re expecting the show to be pretty full-on and you can see that already in the trailer below, which features more than a few pools of blood. The confessional business felt a little over the top, but we’ll have to reserve judgement for when we get a chance to see it in context when it hits Netflix in April.
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Marvel’s Daredevil trailer:
Image gallery:
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdoch, when he’s not fighting crime as Daredevil.
Daredevil dishes out some justice in the new Marvel TV show.
Deborah Ann Woll to star as Karen Page.
