Netflix and Marvel have released the above teaser trailer for Daredevil, the first Marvel show to appear on Netflix, which will be released on April 10. Showrunner Steven S. DeKnight, who previously worked on Spartacus, discussed the trailer and the choice of Charlie Cox of Boardwalk Empire for the title role:
We had all loved Charlie on Boardwalk Empire. We knew that he had the charm and the charisma but also could go to a darker place. When he came in for his audition, he just had a fascinating take on the character. It wasn’t quite the direction we were going in but it was so nuanced and well thought out that we called him back in and we talked to him and made some adjustments and he made fantastic adjustments and he had such a depth of character that we really responded to. He can exude such inner turmoil and pain that is really vital to Matt Murdock, not to mention the fact that when you’re looking for a lead, you really want number one on the call sheet to be somebody that people respect and want to be around for 14 hours a day and Charlie is just the nicest guy in the world.
He discussed the use of the black uniform, as opposed to the red one which he more commonly wore in the comics:
Really, the reason we start with this version — which is hugely influenced by Man Without Fear — is for two reasons. One, this really is the beginning, the formation of Matt Murdock a Daredevil. On the flip side, it’s the formation of Wilson Fisk becoming Kingpin. It’s very much a parallel arc. We didn’t want to start him in the [red] suit. We wanted the early days of him figuring out what he was doing and making mistakes and getting the crap beat out of him on a regular basis. His suit, which we call his vigilante outfit, in the beginning – we tried practically everything, design-wise. We experimented with a lot of different head pieces. One version was a ski mask with the eyes sewn shut. We tried everything until we found something that just felt right. And also, really going back to that Man Without Fear, I can’t say where his costume ends up, where it goes, but there is definitely an evolution.
Daredevil was also compared to Batman:
I always loved in the comics that also this is a guy that has heightened sense but no super powers. This is a guy who’s pushing himself to the limit who can get hurt and can get killed… I’m hugely influenced by the Frank Miller runs that I grew up with, where he was constantly getting the crap kicked out of him. Again, obviously there’s a bit of a heightened sense of reality that he can do what he can do and not end up in the hospital every other day. But we also touch upon why that is. Really, it’s like Batman without the money. He is just determined. It’s sheer force of will that keeps him going when a normal man would fall over and a lot of that I think, also in the Matt Murdock mythos, comes from his father and being a boxer and that kind of thing, where you just don’t quit.
WhatCulture! further breaks down the trailer.
Daredevil will be followed by A.K.A. Jessica Jones later this year. Carrie-Anne Moss of The Matrix has been signed to play a potential friend and ally of the title character, played by Kristyn Ritter. According to Marvel.com, “Moss plays a no-nonsense woman who could prove a powerful ally to Jessica…if Jessica doesn’t completely alienate her first.”
More on the upcoming Marvel shows on Netflix here.
