The Phantom

[Sam Fisher]

http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=8180

SCI FI Developing The Phantom

Source:The Hollywood Reporter
March 23, 2009



The Hollywood Reporter says that SCI FI Channel (soon to be Syfy) has greenlighted a fresh take on the comic book "The Phantom." The project will be a four-hour movie from production company RHI Entertainment.

"The Phantom" will be under consideration for a series order contingent on drawing a large enough audience.

"Phantom" has been adapted a few times without much success, but Halmi said the previous stumbles are a good reason to try again.

"That there hasn't been a successful 'Phantom' leaves the door wide open for us, since nobody has made it their own yet," Halmi said.

"The Phantom" is expected to hit the channel next year.

 

[Walker]

I adore the character, so I hope they'll actually spend some money on this one, unlike their Flash Gordon show, which was plagued by cardboard sets, bad actors and effects that Ed Wood would have looked down on.

However, I am a lot more keen on seeing the new movie, The Phantom: Legacy, than this, which sounds like Phantom in name only according to what I've read about it this far.

And, to get the facts right, there have been a successfull adaptation of the Phantom, even though it's far back in time. The 1943 serial starring Tom "Captain Marvel" Tyler (check it out, it's great fun) did very well, but the company lost the rights to the character by the time they were filming the sequel so they re-shot the entire thing as "The adventures of Captain Africa" (which is awful in every way).

 

[SoulManX]

ANY ONE remember Flash Gordon


Yea SYFY got a hold of that...I see the same fate for Kit Walker

 

[TheComicbookKid]

I just don't see how this will turn out well. It'll either be done on the cheap like Flash Gordon or be a reimagining like WB's Tarzan years ago so they can film in Canada.

 

[SoulManX]

i just don't see how this will turn out well. It'll either be done on the cheap like flash gordon or be a reimagining like wb's tarzan years ago so they can film in canada.

spot on...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm sure I'll watch the movie, since the Phantom's always interested me. I don't have high hopes for all the reasons you guys have already mentioned, but I gotta at least give it a shot.

 

[Walker]

The thing will have a fairly decent budget at least:
http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/03/sci-fi-phantom-riverworld-alice.html

 

[Casius--J]

Not too sure, never really been into the phantom but I hope he doesnt get the flash gordon treatment, gosh that was terrible!

 

[SoulManX]

I'm sure I'll watch the movie, since the Phantom's always interested me. I don't have high hopes for all the reasons you guys have already mentioned, but I gotta at least give it a shot.

YEA a shot in the dark

 

[BlackLantern]

I own the Billy Zane 'Phantom' on DVD....I too have always liked the character and the concept of passing the mantle down from father to son

 

[Warhammer]

As a big fan of the movie and the 2040 cartoon, this news makes me sad. I have no faith in Sci-Fi. Sure, they have Eureka and had Battlestar Galactica, but they also had Flash Gordon and Painkiller Jane.



I'd rather have Raimi make this a quality syndicated series, or have anyone make this into a film.

 

[KenK]

As a big fan of the movie and the 2040 cartoon, this news makes me sad. I have no faith in Sci-Fi. Sure, they have Eureka and had Battlestar Galactica, but they also had Flash Gordon and Painkiller Jane.

So, they're basically like any other television network.

Some shows are good, some are bad. That's just the law of averages. There's nothing to dictate how good or bad the show will turn out

 

[TheCorpulent1]

With Sci F--sorry, Syfy whatever, it's more like a couple shows are good, the vast majority of everything else on the channel is bad.

Not to mention, they're talking about modernizing the Phantom and getting it away from its purple tights and campy roots. The last time they talked about modernizing a classic property and making it less campy, we got the god-awful Flash Gordon series. So there's some cause to be wary. I'll still give it a try, though. It's the Phantom.

 

[Walker]

The last thing I would call the Phantom is "camp". Sure, he wears purple, but that was due to a dumb error by the colourist for the Sunday pages. Lee Falk originally described the costume as grey, and the Phantom has always been a more mysterious and frightening figure than what he was portrayed as in the Billy Zane movie. He scared the crap out of villains long before Batman debuted, as an example, with his skull marks and psychological warfare against evil.

 

[KenK]

With Sci F--sorry, Syfy whatever, it's more like a couple shows are good, the vast majority of everything else on the channel is bad.

Not to mention, they're talking about modernizing the Phantom and getting it away from its purple tights and campy roots. The last time they talked about modernizing a classic property and making it less campy, we got the god-awful Flash Gordon series. So there's some cause to be wary. I'll still give it a try, though. It's the Phantom.

Well, getting away from campy doesn't bother me. Nor does modernization, given that the nature of the character lends itself to being modernized, as evidenced by Phantom 2040. Being an animated series that was merely syndicated on local affiliates around the country, as opposed to being part of a programming block on a major network, it was lucky to have two seasons (even though I'd have loved for there to be more). And that definitely wasn't a campy show by any means.

But a will agree, getting away from the purple tights is a big no-no!

 

[BlackLantern]

if it was on The CW he would wear a purple skin tight shirt, black jeans and have purple streaks in his hair

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Purple armor's cool with me. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight clearly show that modern viewers are willing to accept molded body armor as a substitute for comic book tights.

 

[KenK]

Functionality-schmunctionality. I still hate both of those suits with a firery vengeance. Whoever they cast better bulk up, same way Zane did for the film, and wear something similar to what the cast in FF wore. And I'd like to think in the seven years since the first Spider-Man, they'd been able to develop something comparable to what was created for that film on a suitable budget for television.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I like the costume in The Dark Knight. The Batman Begins one looked awkward, since Bale couldn't move his neck in it.

 

[Walker]

Again, it really is a shame if the Zane film has led to believe this is a camp character.

I don't mind costume changes. I never liked the purple as much as the blue costume, which he wears in Scandinavian comics. As I said, the outfit was never intended to be purple in the first place.

 

[deathshead2]

Theres a good chance this could be good. There minis are always entertaining. If the ratings are good and based off there past minis the ratings most likely will be, all we have to pray for is that the showrunner isn't the guy fro Charmed who decided to ruin Flash Gordon or the guy from Painkiller Jane.

I can see why they want to make it modern since Canada doesn't have a jungle, and every series of Stargate has pretty much covered the whole forest by now for their alien worlds.

It'll be interesting to see what Syfi will bring to the table. With BattleStar gone they might try to make this a series action drama to take its place.

 

[KenK]

Theres a good chance this could be good. There minis are always entertaining. If the ratings are good and based off there past minis the ratings most likely will be, all we have to pray for is that the showrunner isn't the guy fro Charmed who decided to ruin Flash Gordon or the guy from Painkiller Jane.

I can see why they want to make it modern since Canada doesn't have a jungle, and every series of Stargate has pretty much covered the whole forest by now for their alien worlds.

Yeah, it'd get to the point where you're looking as a rock formation going, "HEY! I saw that same rock formation of Stargate!"

It'll be interesting to see what Syfi will bring to the table. With BattleStar gone they might try to make this a series action drama to take its place.

That's for sure. It's gotta be tough knowing you'll never be able to make a show to match its critical success. The show wasn't just one of the best sci-fi shows ever made, but it was also a great dramatic serious. That kind of magic is hard to recreate. A shame BSG never even got any Emmy recognition. Sad when you consider the number of critics who considered it one of the best shows on television.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Beyond just wanting to shoot in Vancouver, the modern setting inherently works for the Phantom because his whole schtick is that it's a legacy that'll continue forever. So we follow a guy carrying the legacy in the early '00s rather than the 1920s; does it really make that much of a difference?

 

[deathshead2]

I forgot about the whole legacy thing. Whoever will be in charge of the show has alot to play around with. Flashback episodes about the legacy, enviromental issue episodes since he wants to protect his jungle home, those damn pirates, maybe they can even get the rights to use Mandrake. Have a little team up special. Geez I hope someone who worked on BSG takes over the show.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I would love to see something like the Immortal Iron Fist comic, with maybe two or three episodes per season dedicated to exploring an earlier bearer of the Phantom legacy.