I typically stay away from these silly announcement pieces, but this one was too good to ignore. The Associated Press is carrying a story saying a sequel to the 1996 feature The Phantom, which starred Billy Zane, is set to begin shooting within six to nine months with the entire film expected to be shot in Australia. A director has not yet been attached but Tim Boyle will pen the script.
“The film will be set in the present day and will deal with the concept of destiny,” Boyle told the AP. The film will be titled The Phantom Legacy and is expected to cost in the range of $87 million and will focus on “the Father/Son relationship, and what it means to be The Phantom,” Boyle added.
“The Phantom” began as a daily newspaper comic strip by Lee Falk in 1936. The protagonist – alter ego Kit Walker – is the 21st in a family of men who have passed the task of fighting injustice onto their sons. The first Phantom took the job to avenge his father’s death at the hands of pirates.
I think it is safe to say Billy Zane will not be reprising his role as the masked hero who fights evil from his jungle headquarters.
