Marvel’s first show in their five-title deal with Netflix – Daredevil – is cranking up the marketing machine this week. Along with a gallery of new stills and a tantalizing motion poster, two of the creative forces behind the rebooted series have now divulged further info on the crime fightin’ lawyer.
Star of the show, Charlie Cox gave Empire Magazine his opinion on the series’ tone and how that may be a surprise to some viewers:
“This is more sinister, and that really suits the character. The hero and the villain… it’s a very blurry line. Let’s say that you didn’t know anything about Daredevil, hopefully you would feel a sense of ambiguity about who’s on the right path here. And, well, you know… we have blood.”
A bloodier, adult approach to the material will be welcomed by fans, after the mediocre 2003 feature film starring Ben Affleck. Marvel’s collaboration with the streaming giant played a key factor in the show’s creative freedom, allowing for a grittier take on Matt Murdock’s story.
“Netflix, of course, they don’t have a problem with pushing it. I mean, they go anywhere from G to NC-17,” showrunner Steven S. DeKnight told the magazine. “It is much more geared towards adults. We call it PG-16. We don’t quite get to R, but we kiss right up to it.”
Kissing the R could quite easily be this writer’s new favorite euphemism for content that pushes the boundaries of the MPAA.
Bearing in mind DeKnight’s promise of a more mature angle, he went on to list a range of successful properties he hopes the show will emulate:
“We always say we shoot for The Wire. Although no-one ever reaches The Wire. We also took our cues from classic cop movies of the ‘70s that we love: The French Connection, Dog Day Afternoon, movies like that.”
All episodes of Marvel’s Daredevil will be available on Netflix on April 10th. Will you be tuning in?
“Marvel’s Daredevil” follows the journey of Matt Murdock, who was blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, now fighting against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the super hero Daredevil in modern day Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. The series stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson with Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk.
Marvel’s first original series on Netflix is Executive Produced by series Showrunner Steven S. DeKnight (“Spartacus,” “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer,” “Angel”) and Drew Goddard (“Cabin in the Woods,” “Lost,” “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” in addition to writing the first two episodes of “Marvel’s Daredevil”), along with Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” “Lost”).
