Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett.

The film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and on the streets of New York as the masked vigilante Daredevil.

Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Joe Pantoliano, Jon Favreau, and David Keith also star in supporting roles.

In 2004, an R-rated director's cut of Daredevil was released, reincorporating approximately 30 minutes of the film, and reviews were more positive than for the theatrical version.

Feeling responsible for his son's accident, Jack is inspired to abandon his life of crime and recommit to his boxing career, leading to a dramatic comeback.

Years later, an adult Matt works as an attorney in Hell's Kitchen with his friend Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, providing legal representation pro bono to clients whom he believes are actually innocent.

Ben Urich, a New York Post reporter who chronicles Daredevil's exploits, attracts attention for a series of articles on "The Kingpin", a shadowy underworld figure who allegedly controls all of the city's organized crime.

When the police swarm the church, Bullseye reveals that Kingpin killed Matt's father, leaving behind a rose on his body as a calling card.

Stan Lee, Frank Miller, and Kevin Smith, each notable for their work on the Daredevil comics, also have cameo roles throughout the film with the latter playing a forensics assistant named "Jack Kirby".

[28] New Regency entered negotiations with a more satisfying offer, attaining the character rights from Marvel in 2000 to produce the film, with 20th Century Fox handling the distribution.

[29] Mark Steven Johnson was rehired and his script was turned in during 2001, which was praised by Ain't It Cool News' Harry Knowles.

This plan was contended by Johnson, and the film's cinematographer, Ericson Core, after they found a preferred area for shooting around downtown Los Angeles' Arcade Building.

Core noted that the appeal came from the "beautiful, old brick buildings and great rooftops," which they felt was perfect for a depiction of Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, in comparison to the studio's choice where the filming would be done in Montreal or Vancouver.

Avi Arad asked Revell to concentrate more on the emotions of Daredevil and Elektra, while Mark Steven Johnson wanted to stay clear from any gothic and action movie clichés.

Revell described the director as "positive" and "responsive" when it came to experimenting (as opposed to feeling "locked in a box of preconceptions") which he felt led to "cool stuff".

[40] Aside from expected TV commercials during such TV hits as Friends and Law & Order, as well as one in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXXVII, there was also a tie-in with Kraft, an in-store promotion at Wal-Mart, a marketing campaign with Hamilton Watch Company, who designed the watch Matt wears in the film,[41] and a weeklong Daredevil segment on Entertainment Tonight.

The deputy prime minister told the press films were banned if containing what the board felt was "excessive violence and sexual material or elements which can create chaos in the community".

"[54] The Houston Chronicle's Bruce Westbrook considered it "the best Marvel movie to date, it's as well-written and character-driven as some of today's Oscar contenders, and its story doesn't stall with hollow flamboyance.

[59] The Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern considered the film to be neither original nor great but felt it maintained "many grace notes and interesting oddities.

"[61] The Philadelphia Inquirer's Steven Rea thought the film brought a variance of humor and violence, but felt it didn't work as well as it could have.

"[64] Negative reviews included that of The New York Times' Elvis Mitchell, who said the film was "second-rate and ordinary,"[65] while Variety's Todd McCarthy considered it "a pretender in the realm of bona-fide superheroes.

"[66] Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman gave the film a "C−", criticizing the story as "sloppy" and "slipshod", saying, "Daredevil is the sort of half-assed, visually-lackadaisical potboiler that makes you rue the day that comic-book franchises ever took over Hollywood.

"[67] Time Out's Trevor Johnston praised Ben Affleck, feeling he "persuades us of the pain of sightlessness and supersensitive hearing," but also felt writer/director Johnson's construction fails all involved in the film.

One of the biggest changes to the film was the addition of a subplot involving a drug addict played by Coolio, who was charged with killing a prostitute informant who was feeding Urich info on the Kingpin.

[84] In October 2004, Affleck stated he would only return in the lead role if Fox would renegotiate to tell the darker stories of Daredevil, and showed interest in the Guardian Devil graphic novel, as well as the Born Again storyline.

[87] In July 2006, Michael Clarke Duncan showed interest in returning for the role of the Kingpin, but stated that he would not be willing to gain weight as he felt "comfortable" being down to 270 pounds.

Duncan suggested that the character is portrayed to have been training a lot in jail in order to become faster in combat against Daredevil, also working as a way to fit his weight loss into the story.

"[95] By February 2010, 20th Century Fox and New Regency were looking to develop the reboot with News Corp., with Peter Chernin producing and David Scarpa writing the script.

[98] Later, it was announced that in the event that a sequel or reboot had not started filming by October 10, 2012, the rights to the Daredevil franchise would revert from Fox back to Marvel.

[100] That speculation was confirmed with the announcement of an original Netflix Daredevil television series, which premiered on the streaming service in April 2015, with English actor Charlie Cox in the title role.