version. Tanoai Reed appears uncredited as a thug in Josie's Bar. Production Development In 1997, 20th Century Fox optioned the film rights of the character Daredevil from Marvel Comics, and Chris Columbus was set to direct the film adaptation. In 1998, Marvel was facing bankruptcy. During this time, 20th Century Fox allowed the option to expire, so Disney, who later went to purchase Marvel's rights to all of its property in 2012, began negotiations in order to acquire the rights. In 1999, the negotiations failed to work out, so Marvel set the project up with Columbia Pictures. During this time, Columbus and Carlo Carlei co-wrote a script together, before Mark Steven Johnson got signed to write the screenplay. By 2000, Columbia decided to cancel the project, as the two companies reportedly could not come to an agreement over digital rights. New Regency entered negotiations with a more satisfying offer, attaining the character rights from Marvel in 2000 to produce the film, with 20th Century Fox handling the distribution. Mark Steven Johnson was rehired and his script was turned in during 2001, which was praised by Ain't It Cool News' Harry Knowles. Prior to shooting, producer Gary Foster said that, in comparison to other comic book-based films before it, the film would be "more character-driven ... darker ... edgier," while Marvel Studios executive Kevin Feige felt the script was one of the strongest Marvel had received. 20th Century Fox raised the budget for the film, after the success of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. Filming Filming began March 2002. Fox wanted to start filming in Canada in order to save money. This plan was contended by Johnson, and the film's cinematographer, Ericson Core, after they found a preferred area for shooting around downtown Los Angeles' Arcade Building. Core noted that the appeal came from the "beautiful, old brick buildings and great rooftops," which they felt was perfect for a depiction of Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, in comparison to the studio's choice where the filming would be done in Montreal or Vancouver. Due to their insistence, coupled with Ben Affleck's disinterest in filming in Canada (after having filmed there for his previous film, The Sum of All Fears) they were able to change the studio's mind. When the look of the film was being decided, Mark Steven Johnson opted to use direct scenes from the Daredevil comics. Joe Quesada's artistic take in Guardian Devil (Daredevil