The Daredevil movie starring Ben Affleck was released in 2003, with Elektra following two years later. Neither of them was a critical or commercial success, and 20th Century Fox shelved the Man Without Fear.
However, in 2012, Fox realised that the rights to Daredevil were about to revert to Marvel Studios, as there was only so long they could keep the character without putting him on the big screen. Kevin Feige offered to let them keep Matt Murdock in exchange for Galactus and the Silver Surfer, but Fox refused and attempted to get a movie from The A-Team and The Grey director Joe Carnahan into development.
There wasn't enough time, meaning Daredevil returned home and eventually found himself in the hands of Marvel Television and Netflix.
Talking to CBR, Carnahan reflected on not getting to make his version of Daredevil that, according to previous comments from the filmmaker, would have been set during the 1970s and heavily inspired by Frank Miller's comics.
"You know what's funny? My Daredevil was a trifecta, and it was Daredevil '73 which was classic rock, Daredevil '79, which was punk rock, [and] Daredevil '85, which was new wave. That was, those are my movies, right?" Carnahan shared. "So I think for me, you know what it is? The A-Team was as close as I ever came to, like a guy with a cape, you know?"
"And then, I mean, the El Chicano that just died a horrible death, but it was a really cool, kind of, like, a Latino Punisher kind of a thing. But, I guess those are movies I love to watch and want nothing to do with. Like, I love Star Wars. I don't want to make one. And also, I don't think they let me anywhere near it."
"I enjoy the execution of those, like a fan, sitting in a theater watching them. But, is there stuff [I would work on in the genre]? Like Daredevil, but Daredevil is a blind guy that has this extra sensory thing," he continued. "I'm interested in that, the kind of the street level [characters], you know, guys that aren't really blessed with anything other than this something has been they've been deprived of something. So they have this extra sensory skill."
Asked if he's watched Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again since his movie fell apart, Carnahan admitted, "It's hard for me to get into that. I think I got my heart broken by not being able to do it. And I know Charlie Cox is great. My buddy Dario Scardiopane runs the show. I love [Jon] Bernthal to death. I should have better reasons for not having seen it, but I don't."
While we're sure Carnahan's gritty, like very grounded, take on Daredevil would have been fun to watch—and suitably violent—but his track-record as a director is a little hit-and-miss, and it's hard to say whether he'd have been the right fit for 'ol Hornhead (especially if Fox was rushing to bring anything to the screen).
It's interesting that Feige was eager to get his hands on Galactus and the Silver Surfer as far back as 2012, and we can now only imagine what the Infinity Saga might have looked like had Fox taken the deal.
Charlie Cox would have never played Daredevil, and Marvel Studios would have regained the rights to the vigilante at the same time they acquired the Fantastic Four and X-Men, courtesy of the Disney/Fox merger. Perhaps the Mutant Saga would have included a Daredevil movie?