Before director Sam Raimi (“Evil Dead“) was famous for making his “Spider-Man” trilogy as part of the wave of films that helped launch live-action Marvel Comics movies into popular culture alongside 1998’s “Blade” and 2000’s “X-Men,” he decided to make his own original mature superhero film. Raimi made “Darkman” after he couldn’t secure the film rights to “The Shadow,” a dark superhero created for radio in the 1930s who was voiced by the legendary Orson Wells (“Citizen Kane“).
“Darkman” might be getting some new attention from Universal as Raimi has revealed to The Wrap (See below) in an interview to promote “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” that the studio is having conversations about making a sequel to the 1990 film that starred Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand.
READ MORE: Sam Raimi Is Desperate To Make A ‘Batman’ Film: “I’d Come Running”
“Universal is talking about a ‘Darkman’ sequel. I haven’t heard a story yet, I haven’t gone into it, I’ve been too busy with [“Doctor Strange 2″]. But they are talking about that and I thought it was cool,” Raimi said of the “Darkman” sequel, keeping mum about his own involvement.
When asked if Needson could return for the sequel as the titular hero after playing him over thirty years ago, Raimi added, “Oh, he’s awesome, but I don’t know if he’d do it. It would be incredible.”
With Neeson still pumping out action films on a regular basis, a return to “Darkman” doesn’t seem that farfetched. We already have Michael Keaton reprising the Batman role recently for “The Flash” and “Batgirl” after a twenty-year hiatus.
Here’s the synopsis for the R-rated superhero film if you’re unfamiliar with it:
When thugs employed by a crime boss lead a vicious assault on Dr. Peyton Wilder, leaving him literally and psychologically scarred, an emergency procedure allows him to survive. Upon his recovery, Wilder can find solace only by returning to his scientific work developing synthetic skin, and seeking revenge against the crime boss. He assumes a phantom avenger persona called Darkman, who, with malleable facial qualities, is able to infiltrate and sow terror in the criminal community.
Darkman as a character was directly influenced by the Universal Monsters and “Phantom of The Opera” as part of Raimi’s love for both superheroes and horror, combining the two genres to make something unique for the big screen. Oddly enough, years after “Darkman” got released, Alec Baldwin led a film based on “The Shadow” that was both a critical and box office disaster while there were two direct-to-DVD sequels to “Darkman.” I guess Raimi got the last laugh on that one.