The cast for the highly anticipated Netflix original series Daredevil has finally taken its final form. This live-action addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is being developed for television by Drew Goddard.
For the uninitiated, Daredevil was blinded by a toxic substance as a child. However, the same material that robbed him of his eyesight heightened his other senses to near superhuman levels. By day he is Matt Murdock, a lawyer who works out of Hell’s Kitchen in NYC. By night, he roams the same streets in defense of the innocent and the meek. Actor Charlie Cox will star in the title role while Vincent D’Onofrio will play his most dangerous adversary, The Kingpin. Other notable cast members are Elden Henson as Matt Murdock’s friend and law partner Foggy Nelson, Deborah Ann Woll will star as Karen Page and Scott Glenn will star as Daredevil’s martial artist mentor Stick, arguably one of the top five most gifted hand-to-hand combatants of the Marvel Universe. Actress Rosario Dawson is slated to appear as well but her role is unknown at this point. Netflix’s Daredevil offering will be the first in a series of Marvel-based shows that will air on the streaming service. It will be followed by Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and the Defenders. Fans can expect to see Daredevil drop in May 2015.
There was once a time when the Fantastic Four was the flagship superhero team of the Marvel Universe. Both The Avengers and even today’s favorite group of superhero misfits, the X-Men, weren’t as popular as the FF in their heyday of the mid-70s to the mid-80s. The exploits of Mr. Fantastic, Johnny Storm, the Invisible Woman and everybody’s beloved blue-eyed, orange brick face The Thing, were immortalized in cartoon form over three decades (60s, 70s and 90s) and multiple film renditions, including the upcoming FF reboot starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan. But the FF has fallen from the lofty heights it once occupied so long ago. Since May rumors have circulated regarding the cancellation of this once hallowed comic book title and now it has been confirmed that Marvel's very first superhero team will not have its own title in the near future and will only make appearances in other titles.
Though Marvel Studios has yet to release a statement to refute or confirm these rumblings, according to reports at Bleedingcool.com, the rumored cancellation is part of a grander scheme that would eventually wrestle the rights for Fantastic Four from Fox and return them to Marvel Studios if this act of cloack and dagger is successful. As it currently stands, some of Marvel’s most powerful heroes and villains (FF, Dr. Doom, the Skrulls, Silver Surfer, Galactus) cannot be used in any of the current Avengers-based films in the Marvel Studios (Disney) Cinematic Universe because Twentieth Century Fox purchased the rights to the Fantastic Four and X-Men during Marvel’s bankruptcy days. The deal is less than favorable to Marvel from a monetary standpoint. As long as Twentieth Century Fox continues to make FF and X-Men films, they retain the rights to do so in the future. So, basically Marvel is giving Fox free advertising for its film franchises every time they publish a FF or X-Men book.
Actions such as the exclusion of the FF and the of X-Men-related characters from the Marvel 75th Anniversary Magazine cover, the Death of Wolverine and the eventual cancellation of the FF series are all chess moves that Marvel Studios hopes will force Fox to give up its rights to these once hallowed properties. Meanwhile, the rights to Spiderman are owned by Sony and executives over there are mulling the pros and cons of having everyone’s favorite web-head segue into the Marvel Studios’ Avengers-based universe. Hitflix writer Drew McWeeny reports that Marvel Studios would very much like to have the freedom to include all Marvel characters in their movies if a business deal can be struck. However, these things are just “discussions” and there’s nothing that would lead us to believe this is even remotely possible. However, we can all dream and keep hope alive.
