Charlie Cox is Daredevil

Marvel has confirmed the rumors that Charlie Cox has been cast as Daredevil in the upcoming Netflix series, scheduled to run 13 episodes in 2015.

Cox is best known for playing Tristan Thorne in the 2007 film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel Stardust. He also played Owen Sleater on seasons two and three of Boardwalk Empire. He’ll be appearing in the film Dracula Untold, scheduled for release on 17 October of this year.

Cox is the first actor cast for Marvel’s planned five Netflix series, starring street-level heroes (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist) and culminating in the fifth series, in which they’ll unite as the Defenders. As is usual for Netflix series, every episode of Daredevil is expected to be released on Netflix on the same day.

Cox will be the third actor to portray Daredevil in live action. The first was Rex Smith, who appeared in the 1989 TV movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk. Far better known is Ben Affleck’s turn as Daredevil in the 2003 Fox movie, directed by Mark Steven Johnson.

Daredevil recently changed directors. On Saturday (24 May), news broke that Drew Goddard had left the series. Goddard wrote for Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, its spin-off Angel, Alias, and Lost. He also wrote Cloverfield, co-wrote the World War Z movie, and made his directoral debut with The Cabin in the Woods (2012), which he co-wrote with Joss Whedon. The reason for Goddard’s departure from Daredevil is apparently due to scheduling, rather than creative differences — as was the case with Edgar Wright’s departure from Ant-Man, announced the day before. Goddard is slated to direct Sony’s The Sinister Six, a spin-off from its Amazing Spider-Man films, and this apparently conflicted with what would have been his Daredevil schedule.

Goddard has been replaced on Daredevil by Steven S. DeKnight, who created the Starz series Sparticus. He has also written for Smallville; Buffy, the Vampire Slayer; and Angel.