We’ve been learning more about Marvel’s 2015 release of ‘Daredevil‘ and now we’ve got 7 new tidbits to share with you. This has nothing to do with simple promotional photos such as Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock for the first time or one of his first Daredevil costumes but some actual hints on the direction 0f the show itself.

For long time fans of the character this first piece of information should be of no surprise at all as we see that for the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that ‘Daredevil’ will be an extremely localized Marvel Story. According to Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s TV head:

“Within the Marvel universe there are thousands of heroes of all shapes and sizes, but The Avengers are here to save the universe and Daredevil is here to save the neighborhood. It’s a very unique look at Hell’s Kitchen in New York, where Matt Murdoch grew up and continues to defend it from people who would harm the people that live there.”

We’ve learned from showrunner Steven S. DeKnight that we’ll be getting more of a crime story and not a superhero story.

“We really wanted to take our cue from [films like] The French Connection, Dog Day Afternoon, Taxi Driver, and make it very, very grounded, very gritty, very real. We always say we would rather lean toward The Wire than what’s considered a classic superhero television show.”

Loeb added that “There aren’t going to be people flying through the sky. There are no magic hammers.” Again, this should be no surprise to long term Daredevil fans as while Murdock does have special powers they aren’t for fighting and for a long time prior to fighting ninjas his main enemies were criminals and gangsters.

All of that being said, the third piece of information is that it will take place in the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Loeb says “It does take place in the Marvel cinematic universe. It’s all connected. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we would look up in the sky and see [Iron Man]. It’s just a different part of New York that we have not yet seen in the Marvel movies.”

Cox who plays Daredevil chimes in that Daredevil is not actually a “Man Without Fear” as the character is often described.

“Someone who does not have fear — literally does not experience fear — is not that interesting. The way I like to think about it is that he is a man with fear, but he on a daily basis decides to confront that fear and to overcome it. So the title of ‘the man without fear’ is almost a title that the public in his world gives him just because of what he does. But inside himself, he’s very afraid at times. And he finds a way to confront those fears and punch through it.”

Fourth up is that this will be one of the darkest Marvel Studios productions and yet still aims to be family friendly:

“When I came onto this there was no way I wanted to make this hard-R or NC-17. I don’t think the material warrants that. It is a little grittier and edgier than Marvel has gone before, but we’re not looking to push it to extreme graphic violence, gratuitous nudity or anything like that. The story does not require that and I think would suffer if you pushed it that far.”

Loeb says that Daredevil isn’t the only main character we’re following here as the sason will be about the rise of both a hero and villain, DeKnight clarifies the statement when talking about the Kingpin and states:

“Fisk has very many different aspects so it’s not all, ‘I want to conquer the city and make a lot of money.’ In our story, we tell the story of how he met his wife Vanessa and how they fell in love — our antagonist actually has a love story. That’s the love story you’re following, the one you’re invested in, and seeing how that affects him and changes him. I think Vincent just brings such depth to it, his performance is just astounding.”

Long term fans of the Kingpin know that Vanessa has long been his greatest strength and weakness so this sounds like a perfect fit!

Finally Bullseye may end up making an appearance on the show but don’t expect that to happen in the first season.

“I wouldn’t say there’s no plans to include the character in the series. It’s not not to say he wouldn’t be in the series at some point. But I think if you try to jam in too many characters, it just becomes a mess. And [Bullseye’s] story was told in the last iteration of Daredevil that anybody saw. My feeling was, ‘Why repeat it?’ And honestly, if you’re looking for a juicy, multi-faceted crime drama, Wilson Fisk was the obvious choice to play the antagonist. Bullseye is a little more cut and dry. Not to say you couldn’t make him fantastic over 13 hours, but Fisk really felt like the right yin to the yang for Matt, and for what we wanted to do this season.”

As Bullseye often ends up working for the Kingpin he seems like the kind of hitman that Fisk would want to hire after encountering Daredevil at length so this is another wise decision.

Personally, I’m looking forward to this take on ‘Daredevil’ and each of these details has me rooting for the show. Tell me, True Believers, what do you think about the new details about ‘Daredevil’?

Synopsis:

“Marvel’s Daredevil” is a live action series that follows the journey of attorney Matt Murdock, who in a tragic accident was blinded as a boy but imbued with extraordinary senses. Murdock sets up practice in his old neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen, New York where he now fights against injustice as a respected lawyer by day and masked vigilante at night.”

“Marvel’s Daredevil,” coming to Netflix in 2015.

Source: Entertainment Weekly