The man who originated the role, triple-threat Ben Affleck, opened up on his experiences behind the cowl as Matt Murdock in 2003’s Daredevil. He shared both his challenges and lessons learned from playing that role. Affleck expressed disappointment regarding how his stint as the superhero was received, particularly in light of the film’s mixed reviews and its lasting impact on the character’s cinematic journey.
With Daredevil’s release we entered into a golden age of superhero storytelling that had its highs and its lows. Although it did birth a spin-off movie, Elektra, the original property certainly didn’t lead to a sequel. After the 2003 flop, Matt Murdock was mostly sidelined for over a decade. That all changed in 2015 with Netflix’s critically acclaimed Daredevil TV series, leading to a major resurgence in interest in the character.
Affleck went in-depth on why the film struggled, saying at the time they did a bunch of CGI and it was just looking bad. In response to his findings, he wrote really plainly, “Yikes.” These were the visual elements that just didn’t land. To counteract this critical wave, Mark Steven Johnson, director of Daredevil, went to bat for himself. He admitted that despite the film’s faults, it tried to tackle some really provocative ideas.
“I do think we were doing some interesting things back then,” – Mark Steven Johnson
Johnson made no secret of his pride in the director’s cut of Daredevil, a movie that many find flawed but fun on the viewing experience. He continued by describing his passion for the source material as profound, admitting, “I love the comic book.” He revealed that he is intensely connected to the characters.
Daredevil gave us some of the most recognizable ones, introducing us to Kingpin, Bullseye and Elektra. Johnson explained that 20th Century Fox’s choice of having too many characters is one of the main reasons why it felt disjointed. In the end, the film couldn’t do all of this while telling a succinct and consistent story.
Affleck had great experiences working with superstars like Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Garner—who was his future wife at the time—during filming. He really loved the opportunity to work with such talented, smart people. Even with these successes, he started to be haunted by his experience with his portrayal of Daredevil.
Ben Affleck’s experience with Daredevil was just beginning, this time with the Disney-owned Marvel property. Speculation on his coming back as Daredevil for other projects like Deadpool and Wolverine fueled fan excitement. Unfortunately, those opportunities never came to fruition. This sense of what might have been is a note that runs throughout Affleck’s retrospective on his role, making it further interesting.