Even though Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman is credited with being the first real superhero, and he is when we account for all of his superpowers and the boom of comics he created, there are a handful of characters that predate him. These early superheroes often had pretty rudimentary abilities or storylines that didn’t exactly land at the same scope as what Superman and other proper superheroes would later enjoy, and often some fantastical narrative ideas that would be problematic by today’s standards. Think Tarzan and Zorro, or another hero in the same mold, Lee Falk’s The Phantom.
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A classic pulp adventure hero who debuted in 1936, two years before Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1, The Phantom has appeared in hundreds of comic strips (and comic books), plus cartoons and a live-action feature film. Now, though, the character is headed back to television, with Variety bringing word that a new series is in development at the Hearst-owned King Features. That alone wouldn’t necessarily be enough to be of interest; reboots of classic properties get announced all the time, but the talent behind this one means it could be distinct, as filmmaker Reginald Hudlin is set to direct and produce the project.
The Phantom Getting TV Reboot From Reginald Hudlin
Hudlin is best known to some fans for his directorial debut, the iconic 1990 comedy, House Party, with his career taking some eclectic turns along the way, including the Tim Meadows-starring SNL spinoff movie, The Ladies Man, plus documentaries about Sidney Poitier and Richard Pryor. He would also direct Chadwick Boseman in a biopic about Thurgood Marshall and Eddie Murphy in the recent Christmas comedy, Candy Cane Lane.
For fans of superheroes, though, and what makes Hudlin such an exciting creative voice for a new take on The Phantom, it’s his work in comics that is most noteworthy. For four years in the 2000s, Hudlin was the primary writer on Marvel’s Black Panther comics, where he was not only the scribe credited with marrying the king of Wakanda to Storm but also created a slew of iconic characters still used in Marvel comics (and in the MCU), such as Shuri. Hudlin knows his way around superheroes and how to remix them for a modern lens, something he proved in his seminal run on the Marvel hero and again when he helped relaunch the Milestone universe with DC.
In the context of The Phantom, the character operates out of the fictional African country of Bangalla, and, as noted, has no real superpowers. What The Phantom does have in his corner are his wits and strength, plus two guns by his side, and the legend of his very appearance. The original version of the character was actually the 21st “Phantom,” with the vigilante taking on the name “The Ghost Who Walks” to all ne’er-do-wells of the area. The Phantom also has a trained wolf, Devil, by his side, who helps him in his fights against roving gangs of pirates like the Singh Brotherhood and the Sky Band. All of that seems ripe for Hudlin to put his own spin on.
It’s perhaps worth noting that one reason that work on a TV series of The Phantom may be getting off the ground right now is that the original version of the character is set to enter the public domain in a few years. Even though 2032 may seem far away, which is the year that the original The Phantom comic strips will officially become public domain, development on a project of this size takes time, and with no partners for where the show might land revealed just yet, it could be a few years before it’s released. Though plenty of elements of The Phantom will remain under copyright beyond 2032 (such as the recent comics from Mad Cave Studios and decades of the comic strip), those original stories will be free for anyone to adapt and use as they see fit, which could be a problem for any official adaptations happening at that point.
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