08-01-98Hmmm.... Received a few e-mails recently on who should play the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil. As the screenwriter, I don't get much say in such matters but if I could choose someone, it would be...Dante Alighieri, the 13th century poet.
I speak figuratively, not literally.
The more I read "Dante's Inferno," the more similarities I see between the character he portrays as himself in the book and with my version of DD. In the book, Dante finds himself astray in a "dark" wood. He cannot climb the sunlit mount until he visits the lower depths of Hades. Throughout the poem, he advocates that man must consciously strive for righteousness and morality. As he enters the lower depths, he is unlike the other lost souls for he is still a living man who has the potential to achieve salvation.
How does this fit in with my version of DD? Daredevil is a man whom is torn. Torn between his dual identities, his love for Elektra, his entire purpose. He must face the darkside (sorry George) before he can reach his own salvation. His guide through hell? The Kingpin. The Kingpin is similar to Dante's Virgil in one sense for they are both shades (shadows of what once was); no longer able to save themselves.
While there is no love lost between DD and the K-Pin, there is a mutual respect for one another and Daredevil comes to realize how important the K-Pin is when he begins to seek out the answers to his own personal salvation.
To be continued...