A Long-Forgotten Classic Hero Is Reportedly Getting A Netflix Show

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Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.

Netflix has had a pretty fair library when it comes to creating TV shows based on comic books, being the exclusive home of acclaimed series like The Umbrella Academy and The Sandman, and the former exclusive home of Marvel's first series when the studio first decided to give television a try. A recent rumor suggests that the streaming platform's winning streak of superhero series may be continuing with a new show based on one of the comic book medium's earliest heroes.

According to a new report by ComicBookMovie.com, Netflix may be developing a series adaptation of The Phantom. This rumor has not yet been officially confirmed by the streaming platform, nor is there any word on whether The Ghost Who Walks would be coming back from the dead as an animated character or in a live-action format.

Created by author and illustrator Lee Falk, The Phantom is a classic pulp comic hero who made his debut in the character's self-titled strip in 1936, two years before DC Comics introduced the more definitive costumed hero, Superman. The masked, gun-toting and purple-suited vigilante's eponymous moniker is one passed down between father and son (or daughter, on one occasion) over multiple generations, which has led those who have witnessed him in action protecting the jungles of Bangalla to assume he is an undying entity or a lingering spirit.

Excluding the character's weapon of choice, The Phantom would, essentially, set the standard for heroism in the Golden Age of comics. Yet, the influence of Lee Falk's creation, which he would continue to write for until his passing in 1999, has gone largely unnoticed in more recent years. In fact, it makes the news of this possible Netflix series surprising, considering the success (or lack thereof) of the previous attempts to bring The Ghost That Walks to life on screen.

The Phantom Has Been Adapted Before

Billy Zane as Kit Walker on a horse in The Phantom

The earliest adaptation of The Phantom was a live-action serial starring Tom Tyler in the title role, which first played in theaters in 1943. The hero would not be seen on screen again until 43 years later, when he was paired with Flash Gordon and fellow Lee Falk creation, Mandrake the Magician, for the short-lived animated series, Defenders of the Earth. The following decade, the character received his own futuristic animated series called Phantom 2040.

The best-known adaptation of the classic comic is 1996's The Phantom, starring Billy Zane as the 21st Phantom, Kit Walker, who must prevent a trio of mystical skulls from falling into the hands of a corrupt, power-hungry businessman in the late 1930s. The film, also starring Christie Swanson and a young Catherine Zeta-Jones, proved to be a critical and commercial misfire, but has since become appreciated as one of the most underrated comic book movies of the 1990s and one of the best to come out of Hollywood's trend of superhero period pieces from that era.

A follow-up of sorts would come in the form of a live-action limited series starring Ryan Carne as the 22nd Phantom, also named Kit Walker, which aired on SyFy in 2009 and took place in the present day. Perhaps another modern-day adaptation of The Phantom is just what the franchise needs to reclaim its popularity. Then again, another 1930s pulp throwback would be a fun route for Netflix to go down.

Plus, who knows? If Netflix's Phantom series proves successful, maybe The Shadow could be next in line for a comeback.

The Phantom from 1996 is available for rental or purchase on Amazon Prime Video and other digital platforms.