We learned yesterday that Marvel Studios’ first Netflix series, “Daredevil,” is set to reveal some details at next month’s New York Comic Con, but that isn’t going to stop showrunner Stephen S. DeKnight from sharing a few early details! Speaking with Paste Magazine, DeKnight drops some hints about what fans can expect from his take on the man without fear.
“With this version of Daredevil,” he explains, “we wanted it to be grounded, gritty, as realistic as we could portray. That naturally fits in with the Daredevil character. Matt Murdock, on a regular basis, would get the shit beat out of him. That’s one thing that makes him a great character. He’s not super strong. He’s not invulnerable. In every aspect, he’s a man that’s just pushed himself to the limits, he just has senses that are better than a normal humans. He is human. The other thing that really drew me to this character is that he’s one of the most morally grey of the heroes… He’s a lawyer by day, and he’s taken this oath. But every night he breaks that oath, and goes out and does very violent things.”
DeKnight goes on to hint that, as fans might expect, Frank Miller’s run on the title is serving as a huge inspiration.
“The image that always stuck in my mind was the Frank Miller Elektra run where he’s holding Bullseye over the street,” DeKnight continues, “and he lets Bullseye go because he doesn’t want Bullseye to ever kill anyone again. When I read that originally, when I was young, I’d never seen anything like that in comics. Superman scoops up the villain and puts them in jail. This time the hero didn’t do that. It was a morally grey ground that I found absolutely fascinating. There are two sides to this character. He’s literally one bad day away from becoming the The Punisher!“
Marvel’s first original series on Netflix is executive produced by DeKnight and Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods, “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”), who is writing the first two episodes of the series along with Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Smallville”).
“Marvel’s Daredevil” is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.
