Doc Savage, the 1930s pulp magazine hero, has been trying to make his way into the modern age for quite some time now. A new report now claims that a Doc Savage TV series is being developed at Sony, under the guidance of Neal H. Moritz’s Original Film (The Boys, Preacher, Happy!) and Condé Nast Entertainment. Last we heard in 2016, a movie version of Doc Savage was in development with Shane Black and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson attached as director and star (respectively), but ultimately that project fell apart. However, this new TV series seems to be headed down the development pipeline with no signs of stopping.
Videos by ComicBook.com
As Deadline describes, the Doc Savage TV series will “chronicle his adventures, featuring rampaging dinosaurs, secret societies led by dastardly villains, fantastic gadgets and weapons, death-dealing traps, hair-raising escapes, and plots to rule the earth.”
If you’re unfamiliar, Doc Savage was a pulp serial and radio character created by Henry W. Ralston and John L. Nanovic (and made famous by writer Lester Dent), which was published by Street & Smith Publications from 1933 – 1949, following the success of The Shadow. Savage got much wider fame when Bantam Books reprinted the magazine novels with the now-iconic cover art of James Bama, which basically cemented the iconography of Doc Savage as “The Man of Bronze” (which was also the name of his first adventure). Bantam would keep the Doc Savage IP alive all the way until 1990, when the series had been fully reprinted.
Doc Savage has continued to live on into the 21st Century, and is often cited as one of the inspirations Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee had for his modern superhero mythology.
The series follows Clark Savage Jr., physician, scientist, detective, inventor, researcher, musician and all-around adventurer. He was essentially raised and groomed to be a superior human specimen by his father’s team of hand-selected scientists and trainers. Athleticism, combat prowess, genius intellect, subterfuge, disguise, and even a photographic memory are all in the wheelhouse of Doc Savage’s powers.
Given the output of Original Film (The Boys, Preacher, Happy!), it wouldn’t be surprising to see Doc Savage given a modern and edgier twist, which plays upon the silly, soapy, serial origins of the character. Indeed, one look at some Doc Savage artwork makes it clear this character is ripe for parody – or at the very least, a winking, and self-aware modern vision of the character.
We’ll keep you updated on Sony’s Doc Savage TV Series.
