15 Actors For Daredevil

Robert Pattinson

Why? Unsurprisingly, Pattinson's name was the first one coughed up by the rumour mill when Eclipse director David Slade was named as the new Daredevil director, making us wonder if the new movie might make the character younger.

Perhaps an iconic role would help Pattinson shed the Edward Cullen image, and his name on the cast-list would no doubt make the studio execs happy.

Heroic Credentials? Well, Edward Cullen does have superpowers, even if he's laughably wimpy. Other than that, the closest he's got to heroics is lanky Harry Potter prefect Cedric Diggory.

Likelihood? A distinct maybe. He has worked with Slade before, but he seems keen to distance himself from franchises after the stifling success of Twilight .

Bradley Cooper

Why? Bradley Cooper has been hot stuff since The Hangover became a phenomenal success, and his latest thriller, Limitless , has topped the US box office. Surely portraying a superhero is the next logical step on the path to megastardom?

Heroic Credentials? He was the handsome quarter of the A-Team, which should mean he's well-equipped to handle any ludricrously OTT scrapes that Matt Murdock might get himself into. That film also proved that he had the chiselled abs required to pull off skin-tight superhero cossie.

Likelihood? His chances are good. He ticks all the boxes, and doesn't come loaded with baggage from any previous roles.

Matt Damon

Why? Ben's had his shot, now it's Matt's turn. Damon's long been the thinking-man's action hero, and his thesping skills would ensure that Matt Murdock would be as interesting as his ass-kicking alter ego.

Heroic Credentials? As Jason Bourne, Damon became one of the most unexpectedly compelling screen heroes of the last decade. He's earnt himself a permanent pass with that one.

Likelihood? Damon's got a packed schedule at the moment, and he may just be a little too old for the reboot.

Sam Worthington

Why? Having starred in Avatar , Clash of the Titans and Terminator Salvation , he's comfortable carrying a big movie on his shoulders, and he's no stranger to visual effects and ambitious set pieces.

Heroic Credentials? Solid, having portrayed a testy Perseus in monster-mash Clash , and, of course, travelling to Pandora with James Cameron. We're not entirely convinced he could cut it in the non-action scenes, though.

Likelihood? He's got a decent shot at consideration, though he'd have to take himself out of the running if Cameron decides to get started on Avatar 2 .

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Why? He'd be the cool choice. Gordon-Levitt's been rocking ace indies for ages now, and he's dipped his toe in big budget territory with Christopher Nolan's Inception (and, soon, The Dark Knight Rises ). He's ready to take the lead in a tentpole now.

Heroic Credentials? Erm, this'd be his first foray into proper heroics, but he exuded confidence and cool as dream-invader Arthur in Inception , where he had some scuffles in far-from-perfect gravitational conditions.

He was also ace as a high-school gumshoe in Brick .

Likelihood? There would have to be an extremely tantalising script to attract him, as he favours interesting projects over generic fluff (and, yes, we are choosing to ignore G.I. Joe here).

Taylor Lautner

Why? If R-Pattz' name came up as soon as Slade was made director, surely Lautner's should've done too?

The erstwhile Sharkboy has been linked to all manner of awful-sounding action projects since he found fame with Twilight ( Stretch Armstrong ?), so why not at least give him a decent property to run with?

Heroic Credentials? His action abilities are being tested on Abduction , set for release later this year. We'll have a better idea after we've seen that.

Likelihood? The fanboy uproar would be heard from space if this ever came to pass...

Jake Gyllenhaal

Why? Gyllenhaal was shortlisted for Batman Begins , and he almost had to step in for Tobey 'I've got a bad back' Maguire on Spider-Man 2 . Daredevil could be the perfect opportunity for him to finally bag a superhero role.

Heroic Credentials? Prince of Persia may have been thoroughly underwhelming, but that was nothing to do with Gyllenhaal, who beefed up impressively and gamely threw himself into the sandy shenanigans.

He does high-concept with dignity in Source Code , and he's was a pretty unconventional superhero in Donnie Darko .

Likelihood? He's got the perfect mix of action chops and acting skills: we like his odds.

Garrett Hedlund

Why? The TRON: Legacy star's name is mentioned whenever an action role is being recast ( Bourne , Akira ), so it seemed like a safe bet to whack him in here. He'd be a pretty decent screen approximation of Murdock too.

Heroic Credentials? In TRON he wore the skin-tight lycra without embarrassment, and acquitted himself admirably in the gladiatorial combat of the virtual-reality arena.

Likelihood? Even after TRON , his name doesn't have a huge amount of recognition factor, which might make him an appealing option. He's finished shooting On the Road and hasn't locked into anything else yet, so his schedule could definitely accomodate Daredevil .

Sharlto Copley

Why? Slade has tweeted that his Daredevil will bear no relation to the earlier movie, so he has free reign in the story department, and won't necessarily have to go down the prequel/younger Murdock route.

If they opt for an older actor, Copley could be just the kind of subversive choice to bring a fun, unconvential edge to it (think Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man ).

Heroic Credentials? Copley got his genetically-mutated hands on all kinds of awesome sci-fi weaponry in District 9 . And he played another famous fictional Murdock in The A-Team .

Likelihood? Casting this unconventional would probably have too many studio suits sweating.

Channing Tatum

Why? After an extremely impressive turn in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints , Tatum has been frequently let down by weak material. Don't bother trying to salvage the G.I. Joe franchise, jump ship and take on a different hero.

Heroic Credentials? Weak film it may have been, but Joe did at least confirm he had the physicality to play a larger-than-life hero. If he could just bring some of his Saints intensity along too...

Likelihood? His schedule's looking pretty busy right now, with 21 Jump Street and a Peter Pan reboot jostling for attention amid G.I. Joe sequels...

Alex Pettyfer

Why? If Pattinson's not interested, Pettyfer could step up to the plate. Despite the failure of Stormbreaker , his first attempt at franchise fame, Pettyfer led I Am Number Four to decent box office returns.

Heroic Credentials? He's been doing it since his teens, so it should be no sweat for him. He sports a cartoonishly-angular jaw, too: essential for pulling off the Daredevil headgear (which just wouldn't look right with a double chin hanging out of it).

Likelihood? The only thing against him is his age. At 20 he could be too young for Murdock, who's been to law school and everything.

Michael Fassbender

Why? Because Fassbender is awesome in everything he's in, and you know he could nail the steely intensity and the physicality of the character. As a superstar-in-the-making, it'd be wise to invest in him now.

Heroic Credentials? He had a good go at stylised, pump 'n thrust machismo in 300 , and this summer he's playing Magneto in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class .

Likelihood? Fassbender has a great deal of work on the horizon (including Ridley Scott's Prometheus ), and considering the variety of projects he's been involved in, it seems unlikely that he'd potentially tie himself into another franchise.

Ryan Gosling

Why? Gosling has never exploited his movie star potential, generally opting to focus on smaller interesting indies over big-budget fare.

He's tackling genre material (in an intriguing way, no doubt) with Nicolas Winding Refn in Drive ; could David Slade convince him to take on a comic book property?

Heroic Credentials? We'll get to assess his high-octane capabilities with Drive , but we'd have to just hope that he'd could translate the emotional ferocity of his past roles into physical clout.

Likelihood? As much as we'd love to see his approach to big-screen superheroics, we'd be surprised if he signed up for something like this.

James Franco

Why? Franco has previous form with Marvel, having starred as Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's three Spider-Man movies, and the multi-talented actor likes to challenge himself.

After a string of supporting roles and obscure appearances, his value as a leading man was compellingly demonstrated in 127 Hours .

Heroic Credentials? Having served his time on the Spidey movies, he'll have pretty good idea how these things work, even if he's never essayed a conventional action role himself.

Likelihood? It could be too straightforward for Franco, who will be busy juggling Oz: The Great and Powerful with various 'performance art' side projects.

Justin Timberlake

Why? The former 'N sync warbler has been threatening to become a bona fide movie star for ages now, and after a standout turn in The Social Network , he's got dirty comedies Bad Teacher and Friends with Benefits on the way.

Andrew Garfield gets to be Spidey, so JT should take a shot at Daredevil .

Heroic Credentials? He was shortlisted for Green Lantern before Ryan Reynolds won the lead, which suggests he can cut it, even if he hasn't actually notched up any relevant experience yet.

Likelihood? He has decent shot at it, as long as Yogi Bear hasn't completely destroyed the acting credibility he had worked hard to earn.