Comic book lovers and Netflix binge watchers have been hotly anticipating Daredevil – Netflix’s very first Marvel series – for some time now. With a release date originally slated to be sometime in May 2015, fans of the man without fear will be excited to hear that this has been brought forward to April 10 (at precisely a minute past midnight).
Entering Hell’s Kitchen
The show will comprise of thirteen hour-long episodes (all being released simultaneously) and will center on Matt Murdoch’s crime-fighting efforts in the NYC’s notorious Hell’s Kitchen district.
Having lost his own sight attempting to save a blind man, Murdoch is a lawyer by day who uses his radioactive-endowed extra sensory powers to fight crime by night. Stan Lee and Bill Everett originally created the character in 1964, and since then hasn’t seen much of a dedicated live action treatment (save for the hugely derided Ben Affleck back in 2003).
The Leading Cast
Charlie Cox (Daredevil) – cast as the titular character, the English-born actor is probably most recognizable as the leading male in the movie Stardust and for his HBO appearances in Boardwalk Empire. Cox is also well-versed in theatre work and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the UK.
Vincent D’Onofrio (Wilson Frisk) – Acting veteran D’Onofrio has been cast to play The Kingpin, a.k.a Wilson Frisk, who acts as one of the major criminal villains in the Marvel Universe (predominantly in the Spider-Man and Daredevil canon). Given that Frisk is usually portrayed as a large, hulking man of around 300 pounds, it’ll be interesting to see if the already heavy-set D’Onoforio has put on extra weight for the role.
That said, D’Onofrio is no stranger to playing evil mobsters, having played an intimidating gangster in 2011’s Kill the Irishman (produced by the New York Film Academy’s film school graduate Tommy Reid).
Deborah Ann Voll (Karen Page) – The love interest in Daredevil, Page works as a secretary at Matt Murdock’s law firm. The actress portraying her will be familiar from her work on True Blood, and couldn’t be more suited to the part: she’s a New York native and is also fairly lucky in love, having a long-term boyfriend EJ Scott which she initially met though online dating.
Rosario Dawson (Claire Temple) – Also known by the alter ego Night Nurse, the NYC medical professional is known for her benevolence and tendency to get injured superheroes back to health. The character herself is interesting in that she appeared in her own comic series between 1972-1973 which contained no superheroes in its first run. Alongside Voll, Dawson herself is a New York City resident and is reportedly a huge comic book fan.
Also starring are Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, AyeletZurer as Vanessa Marianna, Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsley, Toby Leonard Moore as Wesley andVondie Curtis-Hall as Ben Urich.
The Bigger Picture: More Marvel on the Way
Daredevil was initially announced in late 2013, following Marvel’snumerous talks with television networks in an attempt to build a number of character-centric shows all centered around the same universe, essentially replicating the big screen success seen by the Avengers franchise.
It was Netflix who managed to land the deal with the series being produced by ABC; after Daredevil, it is expected to launch three other shows based around characters from the Defenders group – namely the aforementioned Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage.
We’ll keep you updated on details of those shows as they emerge.