One of most anticipated panels at New York Comic Con was the Daredevil on Netflix panel. There was some information we still didn't have. At the panel, Jeph Loeb, President of Marvel Television, came out on stage and gave some background on the shows coming to Netflix. We know that following Daredevil, we'll have shows with Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and then one joining them together in Defenders. Loeb did want to clarify that while there have been rumors on the casting of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, neither have been cast yet.
We got to see footage for the first time. Taking place in Karen Page's apartment, it's a dark and rainy night. She grabs something out of hiding when she's attacked and slammed against the wall a couple times. The attacker then takes out a knife and prepares to finish her after picking up the object when the door busts open. There's our first look at Daredevil. Marvel has just released an image of Daredevil as seen in this scene (which you'll notice resembles the look John Romita Jr gave him in DAREDEVIL: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR).
The fighting is brutal and intense with the scene ending with the two crashing through the window and falling a couple stories down into the alley below.
Loeb then brought out the cast.
Charlie Cox is Daredevil/Matt Murdock, Vincent D'Onofrio is Kingpin, Deborah Ann Woll is Karen Page, Elden Henson is Foggy Nelson, Ayelet Zurer is Vanessa, Vondie Curtis-Hall is Ben Urich, Bob Gunton is Leland "The Owl" Owlsley, and Toby Leonard Moore is Wesley, Kingpin's right hand man.
It was over two years Joe Quesada called Loeb to tell him he found their Daredevil. This was long before they even had the TV rights. Quesada was determined that Cox would eventually play their Daredevil.
Rosario Dawson wasn't able to attend the panel. Her role has been speculated since it was announced she was joining the cast. Loeb revealed she would be playing Night Nurse (a nurse that treats superheroes that have been injured in battle in a secret hospital, in the comics). This brought a second clip where Night Nurse found an unconscious and battered Daredevil in her dumpster and brought him into her apartment. She didn't understand how he was injured so and why he wasn't surprised that he clearly must be blind since his pupils didn't react to light. Daredevil isn't too happy that she's seen his face but he's in no condition to move.
A third scene involved Vanessa meeting Kingpin for the first time at an art gallery. He was staring at a white painting (with a high selling price) and she asked him if he was interested in it. He said he was. She mentioned it didn't matter what the painting was or who painted it; what mattered was how it made him feel. He said, "It makes me feel alone."
D'Onofrio replied, "Our Fisk is a child and he's a monster. Every move that he makes comes from his foundation of morality inside himself. Meeting Vanessa, the one thing she does is bring hi out of the shadows. We're playing it real. Emotional. Moment to moment."
It was mentioned that there are no heroes or villains in this show, it's just people making different decisions. How far will Matt Murdock go? He's "one bad day from becoming Frank Castle." There will be times you won't know who to root for.
The next scene takes place in the Nelson and Murdock office. Karen is making a special recipe for Matt and Foggy to thank them for getting her out of jail. Matt says there's no need to thank them because she just told the truth. Foggy mentions but they will still bill her--as soon as they figure out how to bill her. Karen mentions she'd be willing to help them out in the office. As the camera pans back, we see it's pretty bare. When she says she'll work for free, Matt immediately says she's hired.
During the Q and A, Cox mentioned having all the episodes available at once (on Netflix) lets them spend more time on story. They don't have to do a recap in each one. There aren't any cliffhangers and it feels more like a 13-hour movie.
When Loeb was asked if there would be a connection with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and if we'd see Agents and HYDRA running around. Loeb replied, "Two things, that's a Level 7 question and...it's all connected, man."
Cox also mentioned he was a fan of the Bendis/Maleev run.
It came time to see one last clip. It turned out the first scene was only half of it. We see the fight once again with Daredevil and the attacker land outside. As Daredevil struggles to get up, there's a flashback to when he was a child (after his accident). Matt's father, Jack, tells him he has to keep study and he doesn't want to end up like him. Jack's face is beat up with some blood. Matt feels his face with his hands and in the present, starts to rise as he hears his father's words. The fight continues and eventually Daredevil wins and picks up the object he took from Karen's apartment. She had run downstairs at this time and tells Daredevil he can't take the object to the police. "You can't trust anyone!"
Needless to say, the footage was amazing. There is a darker tone to everything. The acting was great and it just feels like more than an average television show. It's going to be a long wait until the debut in 2015.
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