2. Joe Carnahan's Daredevil
Daredevil failed to win audiences over in 2003, and is instead viewed as a complete failure. It doesn't help that it spawned an even worse Elektra spinoff, and for some time it seemed that the Man Without Fear had lost his chance at big screen glory. Then came Joe Carnahan in 2012, who had an idea for a bold new direction for the character that would take him back to his roots in a darker, grittier fashion. Fox hadn't been interested in making another Daredevil film until Marvel Studios starting striking box office gold, and before long the studio was faced with the challenge of quickly rebooting the character or losing the rights to the rival studio. The studio turned to Carnahan after being impressed with his A-Team film, and unfortunately were a bit turned off by the R-rated, retro approach he wanted for the character. He cited the Born Again comic book arc as a guide, with the film Serpico as inspiration. He even cut together
two incredible sizzle reels for his vision, which wowed comic book audiences but failed to impress Fox executives in time. The clock ran out, and the rights reverted back to Marvel Studios. Some would argue that Daredevil is more at home there than he would have been in Fox's hands, though fans definitely wanted to see Carnahan's vision brought to life. Now we'll just have to wait and see what Marvel Studios has in store for the recently announced upcoming Daredevil series on Netflix, and hope that they do the character justice.