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David Slade drops out of DAREDEVIL reboot at Fox! Who will they go with? Who would you go with?

Hey folks, Harry here...   SO - the good news is...  Fox is basing the reboot of DAREDEVIL upon Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's BORN AGAIN comic arc - in which THE KINGPIN discovers the truth about Matt Murdoch & DAREDEVIL and completely fucks Matt's life up - and...  well if you've read it, you know the rest.   If you haven't?

If you're at Comic Con and you go by IDW's booth, they have a stunning ARTIST'S EDITION of BORN AGAIN - with Mazzucchelli's wonderful pen and ink's perfectly and stunningly reproduced.   I have all of these ARTIST'S EDITIONS - I love this story, but for my Nephew's 12th birthday, I gave him my copy - because DAREDEVIL is his favorite Superhero.   Watching Ben Affleck's original film was the first time he considered that his Dad could die.   Afterwards, he just wanted to go home to be with his Dad.   And I think if a little boy could come away from DAREDEVIL with that thought, that his parents were more precious - and that the time we have with them is a gift, then perhaps the boy saw something in the film that hit him, that far more cynical eyes did not take away from that film.   That said - DAREDEVIL can be done infinitely superior to what that film became.  

NOW - who would you have Direct?  

Ya know, this might be absolutely bugnuts insane of me to say... but after THE TOWN...  and after the word I've heard on Affleck's ARGO...   It'd kind of be cool if Affleck completely kicked the ass out of a DAREDEVIL film.

But if I could pick ANYBODY to direct DAREDEVIL... right now?   I vote for GARETH EVANS...  and I'd have him polish the script too.   I mean, right?   Don't you think he could deliver something just fucking jaw-dropping?

Who do you folks think should give it a shot?

BTW - Fleming says that Slade dropped out because his directing duties on the HANNIBAL TV series made his work on this impossible.   So there ya have it...

Readers Talkback
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  • July 12, 2012 2:45 AM CST

    First!!!

    by Prefect Maximus

  • July 12, 2012 2:50 AM CST

    No interest unless Fox and Sony team DD and Spidey up.

    by Angry Mike

  • July 12, 2012 3:01 AM CST

    Gareth Evans.....

    by Adam

    ....WELSHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!! Seriously though, if he could make a DareDevil film even remotely as good as The Raid....... Wow.

  • July 12, 2012 3:07 AM CST

    Who would I go with?

    by SunTzu77

    Director? Daniel Espinosa John Hillcoat Tony Gilroy Ruben Fleischer

  • July 12, 2012 3:23 AM CST

    Born Again...my all time favorite superhero story..

    by Righteous Brother

    Not sure if its the right story to kick-start a new franchise though.

  • July 12, 2012 3:26 AM CST

    This time they`ll make it dark and gritty. Who knew ?

    by higgledyhiggles

  • That description (i don't know the story it's based on) could easily be both a new movie and have threads that would make it a sequel to the Daredevil movie we've already had. where Fisk found out Daredevil's identity at the end. Sounds to me like they're trying to do what was tried with Hulk/The Incredible Hulk and Ghost Rider/Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

  • July 12, 2012 3:58 AM CST

    Hillcoat plus Pearce equals awesome

    by Frede

  • July 12, 2012 4:01 AM CST

    Doing "Born again" is stupid at this point

    by BEHEM Pascal

    This story worked because Daredevil was an established character for a long time before his life was put upside down. You can't start a reboot with that plot.

  • July 12, 2012 4:02 AM CST

    Righteousbrother

    by Jason Regan

    Totally with you on that. An amazing book.

  • Boy, do I hate the dark and gritty hate train. A decade ago all you fucks wanted a dark and gritty Batman, now you got three of 'em which are all great and now you bitch about dark and gritty??? Really, fuck you and your moms. If the comic warrants dark and gritty, dark and gritty is still great. come on...

  • July 12, 2012 4:04 AM CST

    Isn't Cap America in 'Born Again'?

    by Fortunesfool

    Big DD fan but not sure how well the character translates to film. Fingers crossed the rights go back to Marvel.

  • July 12, 2012 4:06 AM CST

    Wow! Gareth Evans, Perfect.

    by Despotellis

    Fox should be throwing money at this guy and his team. They need to ditch Born Again for now though. As much as I love that story, I hate that it's almost come to define the character. It seems that since then, most writers have been trying to do their own version, and the comic pretty much devolved into Daredevil getting his ass handed to him every month. Build the hero first then destroy him, that's one of the reasons Born Again had such an impact. How about a straightforward superhero story involving The Hand? It would be an opportunity to explore Daredevil's history and training, show what he's capable of. Introduce Kingpin as an up and coming mob boss who isn't pleased with Daredevil and now also has weird ninjas to deal with. Build Daredevil and Karen's relationship. Have Kingpin come out of it all as top dog, he makes Daredevil a priority, realising he's underestimated him and will have to take exteme measures. Then do Born Again. There are many stories to draw from and I think a possible franchise would be better served by creating an awesome action movie that people feel they need to see, rather than a movie that starts on a downer about a character most people don't care about. Daredevil versus hundreds of Hand ninjas, across rooftops, in the rain, directed by Gareth Evans. Wow!

  • July 12, 2012 4:13 AM CST

    Teaching Kids Their Dad Can Die?

    by Tony

    Seriously!?! That's what you want kids to get from a Daredevil movie!?! I'd rather my nephew left the cinema exhilarated by the action and the amazing things Daredevil can do. Or even wanting to understand things like radar. What I don't want is a trip home explaining how my brother is going to bite the bullet one day!! Honestly, it's a bloody film. For kids. It should be well-made, enjoyable, classy but above all else it should be FUN! Fuck all that other shit, it's not meant to be Mean Streets.

  • Ooh, I'm blind but my other senses work real good. Oh boy. Cannot wait. One of the lamest superheroes ever created, IMO. On the other hand, at least you can't do any WORSE than that Ben Affleck...thing...I dont even qualify what that was as a movie. I'm still not sure what it was. It sure wasn't good.

  • July 12, 2012 4:45 AM CST

    a man with a voice who can command a god!

    by Righteous Brother

    and does! (or something like that) Yeah, Caps in it, and Thor and Iron Man - tiny little cameos. Fucking awesome! Blew my mind when I read it, when it first came out. Would work much better as the middle film in a trilogy though. Kind of like starting the Star Wars trilogy with the Empire Strikes back otherwise.

  • July 12, 2012 4:53 AM CST

    Rian Johnson

    by antimcgyver

    Can go Dark, QUiet and Trippy (Brick, Episodes of Terriers and Breaking Bad) or Can also direct in a fun style noir (Brothers Bloom) Looper looks awesome too. Either way, he's due for a Superhero Noir. WB may eventually grab him for the Batman Reboot.

  • July 12, 2012 4:58 AM CST

    Here's someone out of left field

    by cowtrout

    Martin Scorsese. Just think about it.

  • July 12, 2012 5:04 AM CST

    ANYBODY?

    by Justin Dunne

    Joon-ho Bong to direct (memories of murder was pretty) A younger guy pearce as Daredevil (because Guy pearce is awesome) Michael Fassbender as Bullseye (because he's kind of great) Orson Welles as The Kingpin (because you said ANYBODY could direct, so arguably anybody could act) also Russell Crowe, Tom Wilkinson and Rutger Hauer as bit parts (because fuck you, that's why)

  • July 12, 2012 5:05 AM CST

    What I never understood about Born Again

    by maelstrom_ZERO

    ...was how Murdock somehow got unhinged and had a mental breakdown. I wasn't (and I'm not) a consistent Daredevil reader, so unless the character has a history of mental issues that I don't know about, it just seemed a bit arbitrary to have the character go mentally crazy like that. But regardless, it was a fantastic story. Honestly, I'd like to see Cronenberg do a Daredevil movie. It would never happen, but watching stuff like Eastern Promises or a History of Violence shows how good the director is at displaying strong, well-developed characters go through bouts of violent brutality, physically and otherwise. It'd be a perfect fit, honestly. *sigh*

  • July 12, 2012 5:10 AM CST

    ...Also

    by Justin Dunne

    Jonathan Nolan and Lawrence Kasdan can have a crack at the screenplay.

  • July 12, 2012 5:15 AM CST

    G Evans could do DD justice!

    by Kakii

    I think that would be an awesome choice as long as again the usual gripe with Fox, dont fucking interfere! I actually really liked the first DD movie, it was nowhere near as bad as people make out, my only gripe is that maybe Affleck wasnt quite 100% right for the role and the revealing his identity to the Kingpin bit was a bit cliche at that point in comic book films.

  • July 12, 2012 5:23 AM CST

    Why not just let MARVEL take control of it

    by D.Vader

    Jesus Christ.

  • July 12, 2012 5:31 AM CST

    What about the bloke who's just done The Raid?

    by Righteous Brother

    I'd also like to see tons of free-running stuff in it, the things those guys can do is incredible, without the use of wires.

  • July 12, 2012 5:46 AM CST

    maelstrom zero

    by Righteous Brother

    I think in Frank Millers previous run to Born Again - depicted Matt Murdock as being a bit fragile mentally, after losing Elektra. Then the events in Born Again, tip him over the edge.

  • July 12, 2012 5:46 AM CST

    Based on 'Born Again'?

    by scratchmonkey

    Yeah, that makes about as much sense, dramatically, as starting your potential new 'Superman' series with the 'Death of Superman' storyline. So the Big Bad discovers the good guy's secret identity? I suppose it makes a change from every-fucking-one in the city, including your brand new girlfriend, discovering it.

  • July 12, 2012 5:48 AM CST

    NICHOLAS WINDING REFN & RYAN GOSLING...

    by ChickenStu

    anything else I can get for you fuckers?!?!

  • July 12, 2012 5:59 AM CST

    Refn & Gosling

    by elsewhere

    I agree.

  • July 12, 2012 6:14 AM CST

    Refn + Gosling

    by Righteous Brother

    Genius suggestion - make it happen. But leave Born Again for second film please.

  • July 12, 2012 6:30 AM CST

    I would probably go wiiiiiiiiith..... NOT DOING IT AT FOX

    by Mysterious_Volvo

  • July 12, 2012 6:32 AM CST

    Affleck to direct

    by Affleckwasthebombinphantomsyo

    Matt Damon in the tights. Ethan Supplee as Kingpin. It's gold, Jerry!

  • July 12, 2012 6:34 AM CST

    Righteousbrother..."It means nothing to them,"

    by westie

    ...."thinks the old soldier........to them, it's just a piece of cloth. Sometimes, I feel so weak." Still my favorite comic arc.

  • July 12, 2012 6:41 AM CST

    Any comic reader who hasn't read Born Again.....

    by westie

    ....should honestly do themselves a favor and check it out. You absolutely will not regret it.

  • the first Daredevil was/is a friggin great comic book film. direct sequel with Afflick & Garner at the least, & probably best to have same Director as he does good Daredevil.

  • They're both probably a bit too old and rich now. I don't know though. I like my superheroes to vary in age... they don't all have to be in their late 20s and early 30s. DD always seemed closer to Reed Richards' age (right around 40 in most stories) when I was reading him anyways. That director has got to go... DD has some of the most god-awful wire-work I've seen. And that playground fight scene is the cheesiest most ill-advised embarassing piece of shit scene until Peter Parker's emo stuff a few years later.

  • There are two types of movie-goer: Those who have seen VALHALLA RISING and loved it, and those who have not seen it or did not like it.

  • Back in the day, you kids don't understand.

  • July 12, 2012 7:02 AM CST

    Refn, but not Gosling

    by Autodidact

    I don't think Gosling's gonna put on any superhero costume any time soon. He's kinda above it right now. DareDevil is not an iconic character recognized by the masses. He has said as much, somewhere. Matter of fact he said DRIVE was his "superhero movie".

  • but still, I'm happy with what I'm hearing about Travis and Urban's effort. So what the hey?

  • July 12, 2012 7:52 AM CST

    Yes PointBreak - The Complicated Mindfuck

    by NathanGrey

  • Fox and Sony have no idea what they're doing. In five more years we'll be getting a reboot of Electra and X-Men and Wolverine. Just give control to Marvel and share in the profits. Just think, Iron Man 3, Thor 2 and Captain America 2 are going to receive a huge bump because of the tie in to the Avengers. If someone could just reboot Fantastic Four and make it fantastic, then we could introduce some more characters. Let's get a new X-Men movie done right for the first time. One that focuses on Cyclops as the leader. Then we branch out from there. And will someone please create Hereos For Hire!! That will allow them to add in the street hereos and 3rd and 4th tier characters without wasting money like this.

  • July 12, 2012 8:04 AM CST

    autodidact...

    by Righteous Brother

    now they'll throw any run of comics together into one volume, and label it a 'graphic novel.

  • July 12, 2012 8:37 AM CST

    Fox will ruin it either way

    by centilope

    DD Director's cut is much better than the theatrical. I'd give it a 7/10. It still has all that shitty music and the playground scene and such, but at least it's balls are somewhat intact.

  • July 12, 2012 8:40 AM CST

    Guy Pearce should play DD

    by centilope

    If RDJ could play Tony Stark despite him being what, 49? Pearce is 45 if I'm not mistaken, so it could work.

  • July 12, 2012 9:28 AM CST

    Get Blomkamp or Duncan Jones.

    by Bedknobs and Boomsticks

  • You know it to be true.

  • July 12, 2012 10:28 AM CST

    The Hughes Brothers

    by Roffstafarian

    They're really good at presenting dark haunted heroes and DD needs to be one of those that embraces the gritty street violence trend 100%. Plus they've already got experience telling a story about a blind warrior so that's always a plus :)

  • July 12, 2012 11:19 AM CST

    definitely thought that sadi

    by IWasInJuniorHighDickhead

  • July 12, 2012 11:19 AM CST

    I like Afflect directing, with Collin Farrell as Daredevil

    by Domi'sInnerChild

    Kevin Smith as Kingpin.

  • July 12, 2012 11:19 AM CST

    argh, definitely thought that said David Spade

    by IWasInJuniorHighDickhead

  • July 12, 2012 11:19 AM CST

    Who would I have direct this?

    by pikazerox

    NOBODY. Marvel needs their character licences back, fuck.

  • July 12, 2012 11:21 AM CST

    Heh, I was just saying Gareth Evens like last week

    by mr.underwater

    Slade gone is a very good thing.

  • I know what you are saying, that it is a film for children - but still, as a person who works with children, I see the value of films that have more up their sleeves than poop and fart jokes, and car crashes and explosions for that matter. It is only until recently in human history that we learned to rob all sense of meaning and value from our stories. Now they stand as the ragged skeletal framework to convince us to keep watching, or reading. What purpose is there in a story that is only meant to entertain, merely to keep our attention? It is merely diversion. Of course there is the "Sullivan's Travels" arguement that through entertaining film can help to momentarily alleviate the hardships of its audiences, buoying up their spirits and reinforceing their drive to continue perservereing despite the perceived enormity of their problems. He saw the fact of an audience of diverse peoples sitting together, laughing and emoteing together, and he believed of it to be social medicine. But even then we have the fact of Preston Sturges' film legacy. His film entertainments were highly intelligent and their comedy had grace and elegance, reminded us of our occasional folly and our follibles, stressed forgiveness and challanged staid moral codes that excluded warm humanity and found relief in the joys of being alive. But now we have found the ability to strip of our stories any semblance of humanity, paradeing before our T.V.-affixed eyes peoples of such selfish and hedonistic natures that they become cartoons, become images of insignificance. Our grand entertainments these days are not Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire showing us the elegance and grace of the human body when applied artfully, but the upstageing of human drama by robot and alien battles that aren't really there. Stories have almost always carried some type of inherent message, a communication that desires to be had. If anything, many of current television's most popular shows seem to communicate a general disdain for fellow man. Along with unspoken values, stories can perform upon a young person who truly engages with them a sort of right of passage. They are asked of to take up the mantle of our forebearers, to be challanged by the problems and realities that they have previously not been privy to. When a story is told, there is a responsibility asked of the listener, of the audience. And yet these days we seem so compelled to take that responsibility away, to not be in any position of imposition. We don't have time for it. It isn't our problem. We want quick fixes of distraction. We are alienated for ourselves. So if a story of a comic book character can convey to a young boy a sense of mortality and responsibility in a manner that is not rude or intrusive, if it can tell a child those things that they are often so intent on learning, how is that bad? Is it wrong to desire our children to become the best and most assured adults that they can be by takeing up the struggles that they ultimately cannot escape from? Protecting a child because they are not genuinely prepared for a harsh experience is completely different from trusting that child's development by being careful purveyors of the ideas, images, and values that have been painstakingly fed them throughout their short existence. I did not watch R-rated films on a regular basis until college, watched little commercial television, and yet was brought up on a strong diet of classic films. Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock, directors who I grew to love at an early age, both considered themselves entertainers - and yet they found that the best use of their storytelling gifts was in the involvement of their audience through basic empathy founded in human stories, no matter how oddly contrived they might be. We laughed or cried or feared because we understood. Their characters were windows through which we saw the world. Instead of distanceing me from others, their films made me curious about the world around me, aware of the inflections in the voices of others or the little idiosynchracies in their actions and movements that made them unique and worthwhile individuals to understand and know. I am not proposeing violent films aimed at children (which they are already are, and have been for ages as I was a child painfully aware of this as most of the toys on the shelves in the 80s were often from R-rated films). I personally thing "the Dark Knight" is far too strong a film for most adolescences and should have been rated R. But I do believe that films should have challangeing content, that they should ask of us our involvement, our time, and our consideration. Otherwise, they aren't worth the hours we spend with them in the dark.

  • July 12, 2012 1:06 PM CST

    Who is allowed to be in it?

    by INWOsuxRED

    I would assume Thor, Iron Man, and Cap aren't allowed. Cap is a fairly important character, the other two aren't. What about Nuke? Does he belong in the Cap universe? He is a super soldier after all. It is a nice idea to do this story, but I agree with the many other posters who suggest that this isn't a very fitting start to a story, and it doesn't sound like this will follow the old DD movie. Too much needs to be established. A relationship with Karen, a history of messing up the Kingpin's plans, an overall "norm" to be disrupted, and probably some reference to an origin since this doesn't tie in with the last movie. It wouldn't hurt to have and properly kill an Elektra too. How do you fit all that in and then do justice to an entire run of comics?

  • July 12, 2012 1:47 PM CST

    Surprised no one's mentioned Elektra...

    by Darth Macchio

    I actually thought Garner was both cute and talented until I saw DareDevil. I have been more wrong before, to be sure, but it was still quite a shock. I forget, did they get the guy from the Charle's Angels movies to do the fight scenes? With the robot-karate-chop hands? And did they hire that great italian marionette puppeteer guy to run the wire rigs during the fights?

  • July 12, 2012 1:58 PM CST

    personally i'd gpo

    by Harry Bartholomew

  • July 12, 2012 1:58 PM CST

    personally i'd gpo

    by Harry Bartholomew

  • July 12, 2012 1:58 PM CST

    personally i'd gpo

    by Harry Bartholomew

  • July 12, 2012 1:59 PM CST

    personally i'd go with Edgar Wright

    by Harry Bartholomew

  • July 12, 2012 2:01 PM CST

    Gareth is a perfect choice after watching The Raid.

    by Stalkeye

    Shit, why not have him direct a Mortal Kombat remake and make it a hard Rated-R, and not the semi-kiddiefied MK that PWSA did almost 2 decades ago. Great suggestion. Ginge.

  • July 12, 2012 2:03 PM CST

    RE: "Guy Pearce should play DD "

    by Stalkeye

    Agreed, after watching Lockout, he still has the potentual for good action films.

  • if you guys are gonna bitch about some silly Playground scene, or Kingpin being Black, then you'll never be satisfied.

  • July 12, 2012 2:13 PM CST

    Some acting names for the DD.

    by SunTzu77

    I like Pearce as well... so, I'll jump on that bandwagon.... But, a few other names... Joel Kinnaman (Did a great job in Easy Money). Jack Huston Aaron Johnson Sam Claflin

  • July 12, 2012 2:49 PM CST

    Get over the Raid already

    by UtopiaComplex

    Yes, it had great action in the second half, but IT HAD NO FUCKING STORY. Unless you consider obligatory cliches plot enough, which is most certainly not enough for a quality Daredevil project.

  • July 12, 2012 2:49 PM CST

    I just wish Jennifer Garner would get another action role.

    by Triple_J_72

    I hate rom-coms.

  • July 12, 2012 2:56 PM CST

    Pen and ink's

    by Gabe Athouse

    Every once in a while I almost take this fat fuck seriously. Then I remember the time he thought a fake Prometheus script obviously written by a retard was real.

  • July 12, 2012 4:03 PM CST

    The man without fear- Go with David Fincher.

    by jellypop

    Yeah, I know. Very obvious choice and all that BUT he is at the stage now were he can control every aspect of the movie and the dark overtones would suit his style perfectly. If we could get a dizzying mix of the crunches in Panic Room, the character beats of Fight club and the power of Seven then we'd have our adult Daredevil.

  • July 12, 2012 4:06 PM CST

    Refn, Proyas, Durabant, Wiseman..or Cohen Brothers?

    by Tristan

    Just throwing names out there. I havent seen, The Raid. When is it out on DVD/Blu?

  • July 12, 2012 4:42 PM CST

    What about Neil Marshall?

    by Tristan

  • Seriously zero plot I dont like cops by default So I wasnt rooting for them just cuz of that. I didnt care if they died and the action is fine but I don't remember any of it.The dialogue was crappy. I just didnt care about what happened atleast in protector and ong bak its like hey someone stole my statue/elephant give me my shit back, atleast then im like those assholes stole your thing kill em to death dude So yeah Duncan Jones might be a cool choice I really like his movies

  • July 12, 2012 10:43 PM CST

    I want to see David Mamet write a Trilogy of it

    by chien_sale

    Great crime writer and has dealt really with a more action/fighting genre with Redbelt. Hell why not mix DD with crime noir movies and street fighting?

  • July 13, 2012 5:46 AM CST

    DD would work better on TV.

    by Bedknobs and Boomsticks

  • July 13, 2012 11:04 AM CST

    The Johnson/Affleck movie was TERRIBLE.

    by Mosquito March

    From the red leather bondage outfit, to Farrell's ridiculous scenery-chewing and stained glass pancake balancing act, to Garner's awful line-reading, to the horrible CGI that made DD look like "The Noid" when practical stunt work would have been possible and appropriate. Mark Steven Johnson is a goddamn menace to comic book properties.

  • July 13, 2012 4:56 PM CST

    chien_sale is making the most sense to me so far

    by alexander

    But he would never do it when he can do more or less whatever he wants.... would he? Want to see 'Only God Forgives' before going so far as to suggest that Refn would be a great choice.... (kind of) the same as, well if were throwing Refns name up, why not also Paolo Sorrentino? Have to watch 'This Must Be the Place' now, after throwing that out there.

  • July 13, 2012 10:01 PM CST

    Gary Marshall

    by Arcadian Del Sol

    because its going to flop at the box office, so why not just go crazy and let it die with no dignity?

  • July 14, 2012 6:27 AM CST

    alan_grant, that is why I would give Mamet carte blanche

    by chien_sale

    But start with the writing first to see what he could come up with. Give him all the freedom to write an arc going through 3 movies like Matt should this and this and that. Then if the take is interesting, let him write a Trilogy. Let him write all that underworld and how all the little things in New York work from the cops to the mob to Kingpin to DD. I wouldn't even mind a starting from scratch with a new origin as frankly the one we got in the first movie was uninteresting. I also think Refn would be a great choice for director.