Well, it turns out that yesterday's AP article announcing a new Phantom movie wasn't an April Fool's Joke, as Josh had hoped. But the reports of the new movie being a sequel turn out to be false. Screenwriter Tim Boyle took to his MySpace page to explain that the movie will not be a sequel, and also express some hopes about how he wants it to turn out.
"This fim is NOT a 'Sequel'. It is a 're-launch' or 're-boot' of the comic franchise to the big screen. This film has nothing to do with the 1996 movie." Once he got that out of the way, he returned to give a few hints about the production process that's already underway. "This is a very exciting time. Being able to bring the first masked comic superhero back to the big screen is an absolute honor. I've been researching The Phantom intensely for the last year or so and I've been working with the support of King Features Syndicate to try and bring you the tightest possible film."
While he can't really tell us what this version of the Phantom will be all about, he will tell us what he won't be, which is kind of refreshing. "He wont be 'heavily gadget man' (as that is another comic book hero named Batman) and he wont be an 'angry mob killer' (as 'The Punisher'). He will be, without doubt 'The Phantom'. A man who has sworn an oath to protect - but at what cost?"
So you've got a screenwriter willing to take the story seriously-- that's a good start, right? No telling where this potential franchise will head from here, since it still doesn't even have a director, but at least one person is being good at his job.
