Yes true believers, there’s a Phantom sequel in the works. A follow-up to the 1996 Billy Zane / Kristy Swanson / Treat Williams superhero epic with the craziest costume since…okay I can’t readily think one at the moment…is headed to screens, according to Yahoo, among other sites. Tentatively titled The Phantom Legacy, the sequel will pick up the story, set it in modern times (the original took place in the 1930s if memory serves) and focus on the father / son dynamic of the legend and what it means to be the Phantom (copious chafing I assume). The budget will be – if you can believe it – approximately $87 million…for a silly comic book movie that essentially bombed at the box office over a decade ago.
Screenwriter will be Tim Boyle, and Bruce Sherlock, who exec produced the original, is back to produce this one. “It has the makings of a blockbuster,” muses Sherlock. “There’s some surprises that will thrill the Phantom fans worldwide.” Among them, undoubtedly, is a skintight violet crotch area. The production is set to probably shoot in Australia, and Sherlock supposedly has gotten some notable Australian and American actors involved, although no names have been mentioned as of yet. Nevertheless, it’s doubtful that either Zane, Swanson, Williams nor Catherine Zeta-Jones will reprise their roles. Hell, I wouldn’t expect Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa to be signing up for another go-round. Casey Siemaszko maybe.
The Phantom is notable to me because it was the first time I ever paid $8 for a movie…and also the first time I regretted it. Still, it’s gotten a little more watchable over the years and did feature another Treat Williams scene-chewing performance, so we’ll see.
Thanks to Wade for the tip.