Unlike his long-time buddy Ben Affleck, who didn’t have to wait long to make his debut in the realm of superheroes, Matt Damon has yet to suit up for any superhero flick. Despite engaging in a plethora of genres throughout his illustrious run in Hollywood, the actor has mostly avoided stepping into the world of comic books, but he once did have an interest in playing one certain Marvel hero.
Being an avid fan of Daredevil following his obsession with the character’s comics since his childhood, Damon had an interest in playing the hero if only Christopher Nolan was behind the lens.
Matt Damon Was Only Ready to Play Daredevil if Only Christopher Nolan Was Attached
Before Christopher Nolan changed the superhero industry with The Dark Knight trilogy, Ben Affleck starred in 2003’s Daredevil, playing the titular character. But before Afleck, his longtime friend Matt Damon was offered to tackle the role. And while The Martian Star would’ve loved to play the blind lawyer, considering he had no prior experience with the movie’s director Mark Steven Johnson, he let that role slide.
However, things might’ve been different if it was Christopher Nolan behind the lens, as the Good Will Hunting Star expressed he’d have loved to lead a Nolan-led Daredevil flick. He told The Daily News:
“For [me and Ben] it was always ‘Daredevil’ — that’s the comic we read when we were kids. But when that one came along I chickened out, because I couldn’t tell. I hadn’t seen the director’s work and I didn’t know. So I just said, ‘No.’ Ben [Affleck] was like, ‘I gotta do it… If Chris Nolan came up to me and said, ‘I want to do Daredevil,’ I would be in,”
Fortunately for Damon, letting the role slip away turned out to be the right decision, as 2003’s Daredevil failed to score high among critics and fans.
Matt Damon Quit Couples Therapy to Work With Christopher Nolan
This isn’t the lone time Matt Damon showcased his admiration for the Interstellar director, as following his fascination with Nolan, he decided to return to acting despite taking a brief hiatus. Although Damon initially promised his wife to leave acting for the time being in order to focus on Couple’s therapy, he did hold one exception, which involved working with Nolan. As the story goes the Batman Begin director eventually reached out to Damon to star in Oppenheimer and the actor was back to acting. Per Entertainment Weekly, Damon recalled,
“I actually negotiated in couples therapy — this is a true story — the one caveat to my taking time off was if Chris Nolan called. This is without knowing whether or not he was working on anything, because he never tells you. He just calls you out of the blue. And so, it was a moment in my household.”
While a Matt Damon-led Daredevil film would’ve gone hard and Christopher Nolan seems the perfect guy to tackle one of Marvel’s most beloved grounded heroes, it doesn’t seem practical. With the MCU bringing back Charlie Cox and Nolan reportedly in talks to direct the next Bond films, Damon’s Daredevil might never come to fruition.
Daredevil is available to rent on Apple TV.
