RIP Joe Carnahan’s DAREDEVIL - Here’s The Sizzle Reel
Watch the video Carnahan put together to sell his DAREDEVIL vision to Fox... before it fell apart.
It looks like Fox is giving up Daredevil. The studio was unable to get a movie together in time to beat the clock on their lease; the character is likely returning to the Marvel Studios stable. While Fox doesn't need to have a movie in production until October to keep the character, their inability to get something moving by now means they won't be able to meet that date.
They had David Slade on the project, but he dropped off. And in recent weeks Joe Carnahan was in talks. He had a vision for the film that was described as gritty and streetwise - one that he says Fox liked a lot. He sold them using sizzle reels - concept packages made up of clips of other movies (including the original Daredevil!) and comic panels - that showed off his idea for the movie. The gist: it would have been a period piece, set in 1973, against the backdrop of the decline of New York City. The Kingpin would have been the villain.
What's interesting about the sizzle reel, besides the period nature, is the inclusion of The Warriors. What was Carnahan saying with that? Was he intending to use over the top, highly stylized criminals? If nothing else that's what I am saddest to see lost. A Warriors-esque vibe - serious, but broad - would be exactly right for this film. It straddles the grim n' gritty thing without being too self-serious. If The Warriors was going to be a touchstone for Carnhan's Daredevil, Carahan's Daredevil is a movie I wanted to see.
Now we wait to find out what happens to the character. I imagine he'll quietly slip into the Marvel Studios stable, where he'll go unused.
