The Phantom Star Billy Zane Would Like Another Shot at the Hero

Back before the current era of cinematic superhero adventures we’re currently in, there were a number of attempts to tell stories ripped from the pages of comic books, many of which failed to leave a major impression on audiences. The ’90s, for example, saw a number of comic book adaptations that didn’t entirely know what tone to embrace, resulting in confusion from audiences. Back in 1996, Billy Zane starred in The Phantom, an adaptation of a 1930s comic, which was met with mixed results at the time. Despite those initially disappointing reactions, Zane recently detailed that he’d be interested in exploring a return for the character with a new dynamic. Zane can next be seen in MacGruber, which hits Peacock on December 16th. 

“To be honest, a Phantom return would be quite interesting. 20 years later, it’s a father-to-son business and a bit of a hand-off,” Zane shared with ComicBook.com of a character from his past he’d like to return to. “And I dug him because he didn’t have superpowers, really. It was just kind of super-humane. Again, that moral compass could be a nice reminder. So, right out of the comic universe, I’d say that character would be a hoot.”

Unlike other comic book characters from the era, The Phantom hasn’t been adapted into other media outside of the film, surely leaving some fans to speculate that the character is primed for a return while others think the lack of adaptations means the character has difficulty translating outside of that medium. However, given that recent years have seen characters who formerly had a shot at a cinematic transition have gotten another go, in addition to seeing beloved former stars reprise those roles, fans might be thrilled to see what Zane would do with the character all these years later.

In the new MacGruber series, after rotting in prison for over a decade, America’s ultimate hero and uber patriot MacGruber (Will Forte) is finally released. His mission: to take down a mysterious villain from his past-Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth (Zane). With the entire world in the crosshairs, MacGruber must reassemble his old team, Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig) and Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe), in order to defeat the forces of evil.

The new MacGruber series hits Peacock on December 16th.

Would you like to see Zane return to the role? Let us know in the comments below!