While it seems most people are thrilled at the announcement of these new Netflix series Marvel is producing, it's also clear that a few people are at least a little let down that Daredevil isn't coming to the big screen instead. Or at least, he isn't anytime soon. However, there are several reasons why this Netflix series can actually be just as good as a feature film, or possibly even a better deal for hornhead.
One thing to really consider is that a movie just isn't much of a possibility right now. Yes, Fox was developing a reboot with Joe Carnahan, but obviously that's off the table. I'd also like to point out that Fox let the rights revert back to Marvel, rather than taking a deal Marvel offered to extend their time with the character in exchange for the Silver Surfer. They didn't let the rights go back to Marvel because they feel Marvel should have the character back, they let the rights revert because they didn't really commit to the new film in the end. Now Marvel has the character back, and clearly he doesn't really fit in with their film plans (which they apparently have mapped out for the next few decades), so a film under the Marvel Studios banner seems very unlikely as well. At least for now. I think the unspoken thing is that the Affleck film, which I'm not putting down, didn't do all that well nor was it well received. And that's a really big hurdle for any studio. I still maintain that if they'd waited even a year, and seen Batman Begins, that would have really helped them find the tone they needed for Daredevil. As it stands, the film can't decide if it's noir, or camp.
Aside from all that, the Netflix deal is actually something that Daredevil can seriously benefit from. In my opinion, Daredevil's best stories are very serial driven. I actually wrote a treatment for a Daredevil script, just for fun, and realized that the best way to really get into his complex relationships (even besides the romantic ones), and sink your teeth into the secret identity issues and villains is to have several films. Getting one film is obviously a feat in itself, and getting even one sequel may be an unrealistic expectation, let alone three or four. So having a series, even if only thirteen episodes, makes utter sense given the nature of the character and his best stories that can be adapted. The storytelling can only benefit from having an expansive canvas like a season of shows.
Another issue with a film series versus a "tv" series, is that there's absolutely no guarantee that sequels would head in the same direction set up in the first film. And it's incredibly likely they wouldn't, since the creative team would probably be different from film to film. Hey, you're lucky if Foggy is even played by the same guy in the second one, right? So having a series, with the same executive producers running the show, and a group of writers taking care of the episodes with weekly writing-room meetings under the producers will yield a much more cohesive thirteen hours of story, rather than the eight hours (if you were lucky enough to get four feature films) of stories that may not actually gel all that well.
Something else people my take umbrage with is any shortcomings a television budget offers. In my eyes, this isn't a concern for two reason. First, and this is possibly the most interesting part of the deal, Netflix is not a television Network. It's not ABC, which is a crucial thing for everyone to realize. Netflix will not offer the same limitations in story telling or tone that a network would. Daredevil will not be Agents of SHIELD, in many ways. So that's why I say "tv" series, because it's not at all tv. In fact, doing this with Netflix may afford Marvel even more freedom than if they were to tell this story in theaters. And with Marvel producing this themselves (Netflix is essentially the distributor), the budget is completely dictated by the studio. The second reason the budget isn't much of a concern is that Daredevil isn't someone who turns into a CG monster during the exciting scenes. He won't spend half the story as a skinny version. He doesn't shoot things from his hands, and he doesn't even fly. Daredevil is perfectly suited for a smaller effects budget, and thus utterly tv-friendly.
Lastly, the only other issue I can really see people having a problem with is simply seeing the character on a big screen. Yeah, it's a totally different experience from watching it on a computer, or even a large television if you burn them to DVD. This is one I can't at all argue, and I totally get it. To me, the theater is always a double edged sword, since invariably I'm going to have to yell at SOMEone before the movie is finished. I'm also utterly spoiled by PAUSE and REWIND at home. Plus, I'm incredibly lucky that my wife let me get a 67" tv, so going to the theater is a harder pill for me to swallow. And my last point, which is of course my own personal bias, is that theaters are really for big spectacles, effects driven movies, actiony kinda stuff. I will rarely pay theater prices to see a comedy, you know? Obviously many people don't feel that way, and I understand that. Especially if Daredevil is your favorite character.
But ultimately, not having a movie may not be the worst thing for Daredevil. We're getting this series, which offers some solid benefits, illustrated above. And as they pointed out, if these series so amazingly well, Marvel will of course rethink giving them films. Unfortunately, we may never know how well they do as Netflix keeps their numbers under wraps, but still...they'll probably let us know. If nothing else, we may get a second "season" out of some of these guys, and I'd expect Daredevil to be a shoe-in for that. Either way, hopefully you can see that perhaps the positives of the Netflix series outweigh not getting a feature. Thank you for reading.