It's strange to think how close Twentieth Century Fox came to rebooting Daredevil, only for it all to come to nothing. The plans were around for so long and saw so much effort put into them that the studio's second attempt at a Daredevil movie began to feel like an inevitability. Frank Miller and Jason Statham took an interest in getting involved as director and lead actor, respectively, and Fox executive Tom Rothman said that the prospect of a reboot was "something we are thinking very seriously about."

Fox thought so seriously about the Daredevil reboot that they hired first one screenwriter, then another, then another to write and polish up a script. David Slade was brought on to direct the project and remained attached for over a year before eventually dropping out. Then, last fall, Joe Carnahan made a pitch for the director's chair, but by that point Fox seemed to have cooled on the idea altogether and decided instead to let the rights revert back to Marvel.

Speaking with Newsarama at a press junket today, Marvel's President of Production, Kevin Feige - who co-produced the 2003 Daredevil movie - was asked whether or not Twentieth Century Fox's failure to produce the reboot meant that the rights to Daredevil are now back with Marvel and parent company Disney.

Feige's response?

"Yes."

In fact, Daredevil probably came back to Marvel Studios a while ago, since the the deadline for Twentieth Century Fox to get a reboot into production passed on October 10th, 2012. However, since this is the first time that someone from Marvel as spoken on the matter, Feige's one-word confirmation is more or less the equivalent of a "welcome home" banner, and many comic book fans are celebrating the news.

The big question now, of course, is what Marvel plans to do with Daredevil. With all the various attempts to get the reboot off the ground, it's possible (though unlikely) that Joe Carnahan might be granted his wish and given the green light on the ultra-violent, '70s-set Daredevil movie that he created a sizzle reel for, or that David Slade will finally be given the chance to get his "complex" approach to the handicapped hero onscreen. The most likely scenario seems to be that Marvel will choose an entirely new creative team with a fresh take on Daredevil.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner in 'Daredevil'

Aside from being featured in his own stand-alone film, there's also room for Matt Murdock within the shared Marvel movie universe that currently consists of The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and The Avengers. In the comic books, Daredevil recently teamed up with Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage and others as part of the New Avengers, and the instrumental role that Hawkeye and Black Widow played in last year's The Avengers proved that even human superheroes can fit in alongside gods, superhumans, and iron men.

Do you think Marvel are likely to take an interest in a Daredevil reboot? Share your thoughts on the homecoming in the comments.

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Source: Newsarama