Netflix’s Daredevil Series Will Have A “Gritty, 1970s New York Feel”

Our anticipation for next year’s Daredevil series, the first of multiple collaborations between Netflix and Marvel, has been steadily rising over the past few weeks as the show has filled out its main cast. Charlie Cox has been cast in the role of Matt Murdock, destined to become the titular vigilante; Vincent D’Onofrio will play Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin; Rosario Dawson is playing an unknown “absolutely critical” character; Deborah Ann Woll has been cast as love interest Karen Page; Elden Henson will portray Murdock’s best friend, Foggy Nelson; and Peter Shinkoda has come aboard as an original character named Hachiro. That’s an extremely talented crop of actors – but it’s only one reason we’re excited for the series.

Another major aspect of Daredevil that we’re psyched to see explored across the series is its grounded, grimy setting. We know that the plan is for the show to explore the noirish criminal underbelly of New York City, specifically the corrupt Hell’s Kitchen area, painting a grittier picture than we’ve before seen from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, showrunner Steven S. DeKnight has revealed more tone and world details for the series, stating:

“We’re going for a very kind of gritty, 1970s New York feel for the show. We love the idea of beauty and the decay in the city, and Hell’s Kitchen being a place that is both horrible and beautiful at the same time, and that’s why Matt Murdoch loves it so much and wants to protect it.”

That’s all that reporters were able to get out of DeKnight at the Guardians of the Galaxy premiere. In his own words:

“We have started shooting in New York. It’s going phenomenally well. I was just at Disney in a top secret Marvel location today seeing something extremely cool that I can’t talk about. You know Marvel, they’ll murder me in my sleep if I say anything.”

Daredevil will premiere in early 2015 on Netflix, airing for 13 episodes. It’s expected to be followed by Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage, all 13-episode series which lead into an event team-up miniseries titled The Defenders.