While their main ambition has always been to create four-quadrant, popcorn-munching entertainment, the folks behind some of Marvel‘s movies have teased grander thematic ambitions for their work (even if they don’t quite pan out). Most recently, the folks behind "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" talked a lot about how it was informed by ’70s conspiracy thriller movies, but at the end of the day it was still the kind of Marvel blockbuster you’ve come to know and expect. And we don’t anticipate much of a change in that regard when it comes to the comic studio’s move to the series format, starting with "Dardevil" on Netflix in 2015. But that doesn’t mean some bold comparisons can’t be thrown out there.
EW recently sat down with creatives behind the upcoming show, and they’re promising something more earthy than their big screen counterparts. “We really wanted to take our cue from [films like] ‘The French Connection,’ ‘Dog Day Afternoon,’ ‘Taxi Driver,’ and make it very, very grounded, very gritty, very real,” showrunner Steven S. DeKnight said. “We always say we would rather lean toward ‘The Wire‘ than what’s considered a classic superhero television show.”
“There aren’t going to be people flying through the sky. There are no magic hammers,” said Marvel’s TV exec Joseph Loeb.
But if you’re hoping that means Marvel is using this opportunity to do something more HBO than Disney, guess again. Yes, it will push the envelope a little more, but you can probably still watch "Daredevil" with your parents. “When I came onto this there was no way I wanted to make this hard-R or NC-17,” DeKnight claims. “I don’t think the material warrants that. It is a little grittier and edgier than Marvel has gone before, but we’re not looking to push it to extreme graphic violence, gratuitous nudity or anything like that. The story does not require that and I think it would suffer if you pushed it that far.” We’d imagine licensing opportunities would be more difficult with hard-R material too, and it would be a bit jarring considering that the series, like all things Marvel, links to other properties.
“It does take place in the Marvel cinematic universe,” Loeb said. “It’s all connected. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we would look up in the sky and see [Iron Man]. It’s just a different part of New York that we have not yet seen in the Marvel movies.”
Thoughts? Can "Daredevil" really do something different while still attached to the Marvel-verse? Let us know below.