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by Bob Starr Posted:January 29th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
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With director Sam Raimi no longer directing Spider-Man, one has to wonder what he’ll be working on. Many thought he would focus on the film adaption of the popular World of Warcraft video game, but a reboot of The Shadow may be next on deck. IESB is reporting that Raimi, who was already set to produce The Shadow, may be considering directing the film as well.
I’ll admit it, the 1994 film version of The Shadow, starring Alec Baldwin as the title character, is a guilty pleasure. Sure it was super cheesy but most of the comic book films were back then, and I loved them for it. As such, the thought of Raimi, known for his often campy take on content, is a perfect match for this film in my opinion. Don’t worry though; from the sounds of it The Shadow will follow a more contemporary vision, something on par with Batman Begins.
Hit the jump for more on what we can expect from a new iteration of The Shadow.
The script written by Siavash Farahanl, of which you can find a very detailed synopsis of over at IESB, is clearly R-rated with an in-your-face dark tone. Just how dark is it? Well, here’s a brief summary:
“There is nudity and some brutal fight scenes. A man thrown into meat grinder and coming out as ground beef on the other side. Broken bones at every turn. Body parts strewn around a train station. Hookers servicing males.”
That description may sound extreme, but if you read the original comic series it was pretty intense. Furthermore, with films like The Dark Knight and the upcoming Kick-Ass, movie-goers have come to enjoy vigilante heroes. The anti-hero is a big commodity right now so The Shadow is a natural fit for these times. We’ll finally get to see a film in the true spirit of The Shadow instead of something like the watered down Baldwin version.
Speaking of spirit, which leads me to the main concern I have for this character. Frank Miller’s The Spirit, which came out 2008 kind of flopped. Did I say, “kind of”, I meant flopped. That said, I really enjoyed the film, but I don’t think audiences understood what he was going for, nor did they know anything about the character. Hopefully The Shadow doesn’t fall prey to the same circumstance.
It seems natural for Raimi to take the helm of The Shadow before heading into World of Warcraft. The Shadow script is near complete whereas World of Warcraft just got a writer on board. Raimi’s no stranger to comic book films so I have no doubt he’ll bring us a modern take on this great character with a possible return to his campy roots to please the purists out there.
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Sounds like a perfect match..
But does he know what lies in the shadow of the statue?
He/that which will save/protect us all
Locke
1st reaction.. ugh, another reboot. Then I got to that brief summary and thought of the insane mayhem in Drag Me to Hell and I was happy again.
This sounds cool. I remember being really disappointed with the original SHADOW. BUt I did think that it had potential. I think Raimi will do a great job, but isn't it kind of a retread for him? He did do DARKMAN. DO you think Alec Baldwin will have a cameo?? Ha, I kid.
this news is out of date
This makes sense; Raimi wanted to direct the '94 but didn't have the pull his has now in Hollywood. He ended making Darkman instead with all the energy he wasted on trying to get the Shadow project.
I don't see this as a “reboot” – the Alec Baldwin movie was a box office and critical failure (although I will watch the movie when it's on TV now and again). They are NOT remaking that particular movie.
The Shadow started in radio, moved on to novels and B-movies and has most recently been kept alive through comic books.
The Shadow is a great character with a wealth of stories and material from which to draw for a new film. If they do a contemporary version, there's a new area to explore as well (the Howard Chaykin comic book mini-series notwithstanding).
They just need to remember to spend more time and effort on the characters and story and not so much on the visual effects tricks of how the Shadow appears and disappears (as they did in the Baldwin version).
hopefully this will a good take on The Shadow…with Sam Raimi on board to direct..maybe better than the Alec Baldwin 1994 Shadow movie..only time will tell and who to play the lead role this time?!
The 90s version looks gorgeous and has a terrific soundtrack from the late, great Jerry Goldsmith. It's also lots and lots of fun, so the idea of a remake already depresses me. But, it's Raimi, and he is a perfect fit for this kind of story so I'll give it a chance. I hope he keeps the pulpy noir feel to it all and doesn't try to make it too grim and pompous like most modern superhero movies. I'd say it has to stay period to fulfill its potential, too – and let's give Alec a cameo while we're at it!
Why not adapt the first novel into a movie. The 1994 Shadow film was based on the lesser Radio version of the character, who had hypnotic powers and was actually Lamont Cranston. The pulp version is far more interesting. No superpowers; and the true identity and motivations are never revealed, the Shadow is always in disguise, either as Cranston or many other guises, and even the “true” identity of Kent Allard turns out to be a sham in the final Shadow novel from 1949.
The pulp supporting cast is also more interesting, with the Shadow's many agents being the heart of many of the stories.
It's a shame Raimi and co. feel that none of the 283 novels written by the Shadow's creator are worthy of being adapted.
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/off…
Why not adapt the first novel into a movie. The 1994 Shadow film was based on the lesser Radio version of the character, who had hypnotic powers and was actually Lamont Cranston. The pulp version is far more interesting. No superpowers; and the true identity and motivations are never revealed, the Shadow is always in disguise, either as Cranston or many other guises, and even the “true” identity of Kent Allard turns out to be a sham in the final Shadow novel from 1949.
The pulp supporting cast is also more interesting, with the Shadow's many agents being the heart of many of the stories.
It's a shame Raimi and co. feel that none of the 283 novels written by the Shadow's creator are worthy of being adapted.
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/off…