Daredevil has always been a fan-favorite, but his reemergence thanks to the soon-to-end Born Again has incited new love for the character. And with that love came an additional wave of popularity when he joined the cast of NetEase’s Marvel Rivals last year.
To celebrate the character’s Rivals debut, his actor in that game, Aleks Le, made a fan film about ol’ hornhead. Pulling extra duty as its star, writer, and director—along with more technical roles, including producer and VFX supervisor—Le’s Damned short film is 13 minutes of Matt Murdock doing what he does best. Do you like seeing Matt fight people in hallways or grapple with his Catholic upbringing and affinity for violence? That’s here. Is it fun to you when he plays with the crooks he’s about to pummel? You will be fed.
Le’s short gets off some good stylistic choices in the way Matt’s powers and presence are conveyed, like covering him shadow save for the red of his sunglasses. While it’s obvious the two shows have inspired this—Le even shouts out Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio in the credits—the visuals feel more drawn from the comics, particularly when Matt finally goes from his work clothes to his Daredevil suit. If Matt were to ever get his own single-player game, its cinematic trailer would probably look like this.
These days, it’s common for voice actors to lean into their current or most famous roles through other means like cosplay or voice clips, and in that sense, Daredevil: Damned just builds off that foundation. Le turns in something solid here, and if nothing else, shows that Daredevil’s grit can remain intact while adding some more visual flair.
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