Darkman Reboot In Development?
Bruce Campbell tweeted an image of himself as Darkman, leading to speculation that a reboot is happening.
Fans of the Sam Raimi cult classic 1990 film Darkman might be in luck, as there certainly seems to be some interest and forward momentum for a potential reboot. Original star Liam Neeson and director Sam Raimi have both expressed their interest in returning to the IP and now Bruce Campbell has thrown his hat in the ring with a tease about returning to the film as well. Check out Bruce’s Tweet above.
Fans of the original Darkman will remember that Campbell appeared briefly as an unmasked Darkman. The original film told the tale of Peyton Westlake, a scientist who discovered a way to produce synthetic skin. After gangsters brutally attack and burn Westlake, he’s left for dead. He then seeks revenge as Darkman, using his synthetic skin as a way to disguise himself for 100 minutes at a time. The original Darkman was beloved enough to spawn two direct-to-video sequels, though they never quite lived up to the original. A proper Darkman reboot with the original cast and creators could certainly renew interest in the franchise.
Reports about Sam Raimi’s interest in a Darkman reboot with Universal began in May, but Raimi said that he was busy with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness at the time. He even mentioned that there was a producer attached to the potential Darkman reboot. Now that Raimi is no longer working on the Doctor Strange sequel, it’s possible he may have time to return to the world of Darkman once again. Of course, if Raimi isn’t up for directing the reboot, he could always return as a producer to make sure the film stays faithful to the original.
As to who could replace Sam Raimi as director of the Darkman reboot, director Josh Ruben has been putting his name forward as a candidate. Ruben did a lot of his work with CollegeHumor, but he made his feature-length debut with the Shudder original film Scare Me. Striking a tone of horror and humor is something Raimi is well-known for, so having Ruben step in as director could be a good fit. Ruben expressed his interest during an interview with Fangoria. Ruben said that he would want to bring back both Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand to reprise their roles if he got a reboot off the ground. Of course, if Saimi decided to take back the directing chair, Universal will probably want to go with the safe bet.
Whether a Darkman reboot comes to fruition or not will likely depend on Raimi and Neeson agreeing to come back for more. Of course, it would certainly be great to see Raimi’s go-to cameo man Bruce Campbell appear in the film again too. Campbell made quite the cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a street vendor named Pizza Poppa. While his cameo might not be quite as humorous in a Darkman sequel, it’s always good to see Campbell’s face in some capacity or another. Regardless, we’ll keep you updated with any more news about the Darkman reboot.
