Why Ben Affleck's Daredevil 2 never happened

These days, Marvel Comics character Daredevil is a household name. Portrayed by Charlie Cox in both the Netflix series and the Disney Plus revival, The Devil of Hell's Kitchen exists as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, taking on the likes of Wilson Fisk and Bullseye in dark, bloody fashion. But years before that, one of Hollywood's biggest stars brought the character to the big screen to fight those same foes, but the story was not as successful as its current chapter.

Ben Affleck brought Matt Murdock to life in the 2003 film Daredevil, co-starring alongside Jennifer Garner's Elektra, Colin Farrell's Bullseye, and Michael Clarke Duncan's Kingpin. It was a very early 2000s property in terms of its aesthetic and vibe, receiving mixed reviews at a time when most superhero properties did, but it was ultimately a success at the box office.

So, why oh why did Daredevil 2 not happen?

A Daredevil sequel would likely have happened if Elektra didn't fail

Daredevil director Mark Steven Johnson revealed that the failure of Elektra at the box office may have had something to do with the reasoning as to why Daredevil 2 never happened, saying in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment that "everything kind of went away" after "that one didn't work out".

"I think the plan was that they would make an Elektra movie and then in success do anotherDaredevil... I didn't work on the Elektra movie at all, but that one didn't work out, and then everything kind of went away, unfortunately."

After the success of Daredevil, 20th Century Fox began work on a spinoff film titled Elektra, that saw Jennifer Garner reprise her role as the titular character. Ben Affleck even shot a cameo appearance for the film, but it was ultimately cut before it was released in theaters. Unfortunately, when the movie did arrive in movie theaters in 2005, it failed at the box office, grossing $57 million against a budget of $43 - $65 million. It also received extremely negative reviews.

Even so, fans held out hope that we would still see Ben Affleck don the devil horns again at some point in the future, but the actor officially ruled it out by the end of 2006 saying to the press that playing a superhero limited his chances of ever playing another one and that it was even "a source of humiliation for" him.

"By playing a superhero in Daredevil, I have inoculated myself from ever playing another superhero... Wearing a costume was a source of humiliation for me and something I wouldn't want to do again soon."

Ironically, Affleck's comments haven't held up all that well. Not only did the era of superheroes begin shortly after that with the success of The Dark Knight Trilogy and the launch of the MCU, Affleck himself took part in that era, suiting up as Batman in the DC Extended Universe.

Daredevil, meanwhile, went from strength-to-strength on the small screen, headlining his own Netflix series in 2015 that ran for three seasons with Charlie Cox in the title role. It has since been revived for the Disney Plus streaming service in sequel series Daredevil: Born Again, which is now a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.