Fox Almost Had a ’70s Daredevil Reboot Before Marvel Took Over

The upcoming series “Daredevil: Born Again,” premiering on Disney+ on March 4th, not only signals the return of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil on TV, but it also commemorates the tenth anniversary of the initial Netflix “Daredevil” series. Over the past ten years, Cox has embodied this superhero role in various projects such as “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” and “Echo.” As a result, he has solidified himself as Daredevil for viewers worldwide, making it tough to envision any other actor portraying the Man Without Fear in contemporary popular culture. Despite initial plans for an MCU version of Daredevil never materializing, and instead a new feature film nearly coming together swiftly, the character has made a lasting impact.

In recent times, 20th Century Fox held the movie rights for the character Daredevil, alongside franchises such as X-Men and Fantastic Four. Following the release of the 2002 film Daredevil, starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Fox eventually relinquished the rights to Daredevil, opening up opportunities for productions like Born Again. For a short while, it seemed that Fox might create a reboot, maintaining control over the Man without Fear within their studio known for numerous Wolverine and Deadpool films.

Why Did Fox Almost Purse a Daredevil Reboot?

Between the late ’90s and mid-’00s, major film production companies were not too concerned about giving up the rights to lesser-known Marvel Comics superheroes. Films like Spider-Man and X-Men were money makers, but titles such as The Hulk and The Punisher showed they weren’t invincible. Daredevil in 2002 fell into the category of less successful films. Although it managed to surpass $100 million domestically, it didn’t generate enough profit or popularity to trigger sequels (however, an Elektra spinoff with Jennifer Garner did occur). Such titles meant that few Sony executives mourned over missing out on a Thor film, while studios like New Line Cinema were happy to return Iron Man to Marvel Studios in late 2005.

After Iron Man by Marvel Studios became a blockbuster hit in May 2008, a new challenge surfaced in the entertainment world. If companies didn’t utilize their film rights (which usually expire at some point), they would forfeit them to powerful Marvel Studios if they delayed action. By early 2010, Fox was aggressively working on a fresh Daredevil movie, with David Scarpa (writer of Gladiator II) drafting the script. The next year, director David Slade from 30 Days of Night and Twilight Saga: Eclipse joined to oversee the project.

Under pressure, there was a significant deadline looming over the production of Daredevil. Fox needed to start filming by October 10, 2012, or else Marvel would regain control of the character’s rights. Coincidentally, they were in the final stages of producing X-Men: First Class, a movie that was made to preserve the X-Men film rights and began shooting only eight months before its June 2011 premiere. Essentially, Fox had demonstrated the ability to quickly produce superhero films to meet contractual obligations. The optimistic goal was for Daredevil to follow in the footsteps of First Class.

Why Didn’t The Daredevil Reboot Happen?

In an alternate version of Daredevil, as envisioned by Slade, the story would’ve been a gritty 70s period piece, with Wilson Fisk/Kingpin serving as the main antagonist and Daredevil donning his iconic yellow suit to fight crime. This unique approach, however, was not in line with Fox’s plan for a crowd-pleasing superhero movie. Due to creative differences, Slade departed from the project, effectively ending this reboot attempt. With only a few months remaining before Fox lost the film rights, the studio lacked sufficient components to move forward on a new project. It seemed as though they were running out of time.

In the final weeks prior to Fox relinquishing the rights, some unexpected events unfolded. Director Joe Carnahan took over at the last moment in an attempt to complete the project, and he intended his reboot to be set in the 1970s. Additionally, a rumor emerged (which later proved false) that Marvel Studios would allow Fox to retain the Daredevil film rights if they granted them the rights to cosmic Marvel characters such as Silver Surfer. Despite the turmoil, Marvel Studios ultimately claimed the Daredevil film rights by year’s end.

A mere year after, around late 2013, Marvel Television disclosed intentions to revive Matt Murdock/Daredevil as a premium cable or streaming series, as part of a broader Defenders project. This is where Charlie Cox’s contemporary portrayal of the character was born and eventually became iconic. Looking back, the legal conflict with Fox regarding Daredevil’s film rights seems like it originated from another galaxy. Now that Disney owns the company (formerly known as 20th Century Studios), this legal dispute over the Man without Fear is a vestige of an older time, a type of intellectual property struggle we seldom encounter again.

Born Again” will start streaming on Disney+ from March 4.

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2025-02-20 20:45