Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett. The film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and on the streets of New York as the masked vigilante Daredevil. Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Joe Pantoliano, Jon Favreau, and David Keith also star in supporting roles. The film began development in 1997 at 20th Century Fox and in 1999 transferred to Columbia Pictures, before New Regency acquired the rights to the character in 2000.