The early days of superhero movies were very different to what we're used to seeing now, and after the likes of X-Men and Spider-Man proved to be a hit, Marvel Comics adaptations Daredevil and Ghost Rider quickly followed in 2003 and 2007 respectively.
In a new interview, director Mark Steven Johnson reflects on both of these films, but specifically looks back on what he tried to do with Daredevil. While the movie wasn't particularly well-received, the Man Without Fear's big screen debut still had its moments and was a lot different to what we had seen from the genre up until that point.
"We tried some things, which I am proud of. I do like the look of Daredevil very much. We hadn't seen a superhero come home covered in scars, and chewing on pain pills, and it was kind of grim. You're not going to get that right now from a Disney-owned Marvel character. You're just not going to see that, and maybe there's a reason. But I found that very interesting. It was something you hadn't seen."
Once a Director's Cut of Daredevil hit DVD, the response was far more positive than the theatrical version, and it's still praised by comic book fans even all these years later and after the critically acclaimed TV show arrived on Netflix.
"Even though they're uneven, I'm still very proud of that director's cut," Johnson continued. "I still think its worthwhile, and the hard thing now is when you look back, and you just see how far visual effects have come. It's like, 'Oh my God.' You look at the CGI Daredevil from 2003, and you're like, 'Yikes.' We have better-looking video game characters now than we did back then."
"I know it's haunted me for years, because the people that, not all, but a lot of the people who didn't like the film, see the director's cut and really enjoyed it. But what good does that do you in the end? You just hope that people see that eventually, and make up their mind based on that."
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