Marvel Movie Rights: Five Reasons to Do the Daredevil Deal

Just over an hour ago, it was reported that Marvel is in negotiations with Fox to allow Fox an extension on the Daredevil film rights in exchange for the return of some lesser-known characters’ rights (Galactus and Silver Surfter are the ones being named). Reports are that the swap was Marvel’s idea, after Fox came to them about extending the Daredevil rights which are set to expire in October.  It’s being reported that the ball is in Fox’s court at this point, with Marvel already having made its proposal and the negotiations ongoing, but why would Marvel want to do this to begin with? Why not just take their chances on Fox’s Daredevil not being able to get into production fast enough?While the deal may seem a little puzzling at first glance, we thought about it for a minute and came up with a handful of reasons why this might be an appealing deal, from Marvel’s point-of-view.Daredevil is not an AvengerYes, in the context of the comic books, Daredevil may have been an Avenger a few times–but that’s not what we’re talking about. The last Avengers movie was crowded, and the non-powered characters weren’t exactly setting the world on fire. The sexy, acrobatic Scarlett Johansson made it work for her, and her introductory sequence–a girl in skintight clothing beating up a handful of muscular men without breaking a sweat–was enough to “justify” her presence in the film, but Hawkeye seemed lost, his “mind control” subplot an awkward addition to an already-complicated story that didn’t seem to do anything they couldn’t have done better in another way.Daredevil would be more of the same–a guy with no real powers to speak of, save “peak human” strength and skills. It would be pretty difficult to cram him in and give him something interesting to do, particularly when you consider that the studio is already looking to add Black Panther–another similar character–sooner than later.Ultimately, one of the things you’ll find that works better in comics than it does in the movies is the addition of these non-powered superheroes to “team” franchises. It can be made to work in the comics, especially in this day and age of “decompressed” storytelling when a writer can spend up to a year on a big story if that’s what he wants or needs. In a movie, you’re pretty severely limited as to how much time you can give a character in a team film just to build that one guy up, especially if he hasn’t already got his own popular headlining franchise. And there’s no way a Marvel-owned Daredevil would be made before Avengers 2.Galactus is a great “next” villainMaybe they don’t use him in the next movie, but with the Marvel Universe moving in a more cosmic direction, with Thanos and the Guardians of the Galaxy in the spotlight, Galactus is a great “next” villain for one or both of those franchises to build toward in the aftermath of the big throwdown with the Mad Titan. A universal threat with one-world implications, he could bring the characters–all of them–back down to Earth and still be a credible threat, assuming that much or most of Avengers 2 takes place in outer space.And, frankly, taking control of Galactus might be Marvel’s best way to get the sour taste of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer out of fans’ mouths and re-establish the character as an intellectual property of value. And since he’s a villain, there’s no need to introduce him in his own film first.Silver Surfer makes Infinity Gauntlet way easierEver since we first saw Thanos appear at the end of the credits for The Avengers, fans have pretty much assumed that some variation on the classic Jim Starlin/George Perez/Ron Lim Infinity Gauntlet story would be the basic plot for Avengers 2. This requires either major rewrites to the source material, or the introduction of three big characters who haven’t yet appeared on film: Dr. Strange, who Marvel have consistently expressed interest in using; Adam Warlock, who has direct ties to Guardians of the Galaxy and Thanos; and Silver Surfer, who is not currently owned by Marvel. Adding the character to their stable would, quite simply, make the writing of Avengers 2 an easier task.And, like Doom, bringing him into this movie might help to ease the sting of his last big-screen outing. He’s not a headline character, and doesn’t need a solo film, first–especially if Galactus were introduced; all you have to do is trot out the idea that he’s got a herald.