RIP Michael Clarke Duncan

Monday, September 10, 2012

Daredevil: What could have been!?


I'm pretty late on posting about this, but a few weeks ago there was this big hubbub over the rights to make a new Daredevil movie. Fox currently owns the rights but that will change in October.

You see back in the day, the mid-90's to be exact, Marvel went through a traumatic period where they were forced to sell many of the rights to there characters in order to stay in the black. Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Blade, the X-Men and all of their characters, plus Daredevil and many others were sold to various movie studio's. Marvel could still publish comics about these guys but they couldn't make movies about them. This is why so many versions of these character's movies suck. Marvel often does not have as much control as they would like or as they have had on the stuff they still have the rights to, like Iron Man, Thor, the Avengers, etc.

The caveat behind all of this is that if the studio's don't consistently use the subject matter it will revert back to Marvel. Unless the studio starts producing a Daredevil movie by October, Fox will lose the rights and Marvel will gain them back. While this is pretty good news, it's also oddly a bummer.

You see, Joe Carnahan the writer/director of such greats as Smokin' Aces, the A-Team and the Grey was all set-up and dedicated to make a gritty, somewhat hardcore Daredevil movie for the studio. He cut together a visual representation of what he was shooting for, something in the vein of a 70's crime thriller and this is what he presented to the idiotic exec's at Fox:




HOLY GODDAMN BATMAN - er, I mean Daredevil!?

That would have been a frakking masterpiece IMHO.

Carnahan always seems to get the shaft on so many projects with extraordinary potential. From a White Jazz (L.A. Confidential world) movie with George Clooney falling apart to a possible Preacher series that let's face it, won't work out either. Urgh, argh.

The ultra-weird element behind this story is that Marvel approached Fox about letting them hold onto the rights. Yep, you read that right. These are the facts, and afterwards I will translate what probably transpired:

Fox was losing ground on Daredevil.

Marvel approached Fox about extending their claim on Daredevil in order for them to "borrow" one of the characters that Fox currently controls, namely, Galactus.

Fox says no, but asks Marvel if they want to co-finance a Daredevil movie instead.

Marvel says no, rights will revert back.

Ultimately, this is something I've been wanting to happen for a while - I've wanted it to become publicly realized that some of these studios are so inept and incompetent that they fail to use these properties well, thus they are embarrassingly returned to their rightful owners. I want this to happen with the X-Men more than I can say.

But here's where we must read between the lines. Obviously Fox didn't really care to make another Daredevil movie. Obviously, Marvel wants Galactus for something.

If you're unfamiliar with Galactus, it's pretty simple. He's a cosmic being that is known as the Eater of Worlds. He needs to siphon the energies of living planets in order to survive. Earth is a Big Mac to this guy and he looks like this:




Or THIS as the chicken-shit Fox production of Fantastic Four 2 would show you:




It's pretty clear that Marvel would most want Galactus for their Avengers sequel. But it could be for a number of different projects. Doesn't really matter.

Marvel GRACIOUSLY gives Fox borrowed time to make a Daredevil movie asking only for the use of Galactus temporarily (which is odd because they could have gone in for the kill and demanded Galactus back wholesale for Fox to have the right to start and finish their movie) and Fox flat-out denies them. Which I feel is a completely vindictive move and a clear and amazing example of how these asshats think. Fox is willing to lose Daredevil at the expense of trying to hurt Marvel in their future plans. That's the way I read it, and I firmly think that's the ONLY way you can read it. Marvel's success has pissed a lot of people off, and this was Fox's chance to wound them.

Except it doesn't. At all.

Whatever Marvel wanted Galactus for, I'm sure they have a back-up plan, meanwhile they gain Daredevil and lose nothing. Fox stupidly loses a cash cow in some sort of odd, cocaine-fueled idea of a slap in the face?

This is the reason eventually all of the rights that BELONG to Marvel will find their way back to Marvel, because of the way these studio executives conduct their precious "business" and clearly operate without logic while infusing anger and emotion in things that should be about art and money. It's all ego, pride, insanity and stupidity in Hollywood. Oh, and drugs - lots of drugs.

How else do you explain it?

My favorite part has to be where Fox counters with, "fuck you on Galactus, but hey you wanna help us pay to make a Daredevil movie?" Seriously!?

I hate to sound like a broken record, but JEEZUZ these guys are horrible fucking businessmen. Marvel could pay Fox to help them with a movie or they could just wait for the rights to revert back and make a BETTER movie. Wow...just wow. It reads like some sort of attempt at subterfuge like Fox was trying to bluff or something in order to raise the stakes. Fucking stupid.

I don't know why I'm complaining, Daredevil is all but safe now back at Marvel - but dammit that Carnahan reel was interesting. Hopefully Marvel will contact him and continue down that path now that the Fox morons are out of the deal.

One can hope!

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