While Daredevil didn’t really make much of an impact during the first big push for comic book adaptations, it was never really looked at because of its characters. It was always pointed towards of its star, Ben Affleck, and just how remarkably he was overshadowed by Colin Farrell as Bullseye. Now Fringe writer Brad Caleb Kane is looking to re-launch the franchise per the Hollywood Reporter. And they’re being quite ambitious with it, too. How so?
They’re adapting one of the most influential and acclaimed comic stories of all time, Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s “Born Again” run from the comic book “Daredevil.” Kane is a Daredevil fan, and his energy and passion for the material helped him nab the job, according to THR.
The production itself has some interesting faces attached to it. David Slade is developing and attached to direct the film while Kane is the latest hot name around. Kane only has one produced feature to his credit, the crime drama Brooklyn’s Finest, but he’s quickly gaining a reputation as a screenwriter. He worked on DreamWorks’ View-Master movie, a Richard Pryor biopic that has Bill Condon attached to direct and a draft of The Historian, Columbia’s planned adaptation of the Elizabeth Kostova vampire novel.
What does this mean? You can’t fault Fox for going for broke on this one. They’re adapting one of the more epic tales of comic bookdom as a re-launch. The one amusing thing is that the end of the storyline hinges around involvement from the Marvel universe outside of Fox’s immediate grasp, which means either they’re going to have to collaborate with Marvel Studios or change the tale radically as the Avengers and Captain America are all technically Disney property.
What do you think? Should Daredevil be consigned to the realm of the succesful but failed properties or is the time right to try one more time to make it work? Let us know what you think.
