It's been a long time since we heard anything about a new take on The Phantom, but a rumor doing the rounds online is claiming that Netflix is currently developing a new series (we're not sure if it's animated or live-action, but the latter seems more likely) based on the adventures of the cult classic costumed crime-fighter.
The Phantom has been the focus of countless TV, film, animated and comic book adaptations since his creation back in 1936 - most recently a 2009 live-action series that lasted only one season, and most memorably (though probably not for the right reasons) the 1996 big-screen flop starring Billy Zane - and back in 2014, we got word that a new movie from executive producer Drew Simon and The Mark Gordon Company was in the early planning stages.
This project evidently fell by the wayside, but if this latest scoop from MTTSH is on the level, we may be seeing The Ghost Who Walks back in action on the small screen fairly soon.
The Phantom is credited as the first fictional hero to wear a colourful, skin-tight costume that later became a staple of comic-book superheroes, and he also believed to be the first to don a mask with no visible pupils.
"I llearned that The Phantom helped keep up Norwegian morale while they were under the cruel occupation of the Nazis," creator Lee Falk said of The Phantom in a 1985 interview to mark the character's 50th anniversary. "The Germans controlled the Norwegian newspapers and were publishing false propaganda claiming that New York and Washington had been bombed and that the United States was being defeated by the Nazis. Unbeknownst to us at the time, The Phantom was being smuggled into Norway from Sweden and was being published daily in the Norwegian papers. The German occupation forces paid no attention to the comic strip and never realized it was of American origin, but the Norwegians were assured by the strip's presence that the USA was still going strong. I'm told that it was considered a big joke on the Nazis and that 'Phantom' was one of the passwords of the Norwegian underground."
"Today, The Phantom is no longer the absolute ruler of the jungle," he added, "but is instead a friend of the jungle folk. He's no longer feared except by the bad guys. He's more of a peacemaker."
Though the character is nowhere near as popular as he once was, there are still a lot of Phantom fans out there. What do you make of this rumor? Drop us a comment down below, and have a look at the trailer for the '90s movie.
"Kit Walker is the latest in a line of heroes known as The Phantom, whose powers are drawn from three ancient skulls, but now the Phantom's enemies, the Pirates of the Sengh Brotherhood, have a new ally: the ruthless Xander Drax."