A new Darkman legacy sequel is abound, according to statements from filmmaker Sam Raimi via The Wrap, who also wants actor Liam Neeson back should things move ahead.
“Yes. Universal is talking about a ‘Darkman’ sequel. There’s a producer attached,” Raimi confirmed. “I haven’t heard the story yet or gone into it, I’ve been so busy with this movie. But I think it’s cool.”
Neeson’s first action role in 1990, Raimi directed the original thriller billed as an ode to Universal’s classic 1930s monster movies and noir thrillers akin to superhero epics like Batman and The Shadow. The film centers on a scientist thrust into a full-scale war against a major crime boss when near-fatal accident transforms him into a decrepit, monstrous vigilante. Heavily bandanged and armed with super-strength and only a nascent breakthrough treatment of synthetic, photosensitive skin that lasts only 100 minutes, our dark hero ventures into the night with a limited ability to infiltrate the criminal underworld by temporarily changing his appearance each time.
The original film led to a small cult following and a few direct-to-video releases with actor Arnold Vosloo taking the mantle. While shy of its more ambitious franchise potential due to its mild box office reception, the film did well enough to gain the traction it did, and Universal’s talk of bringing the film back into relevancy certainly feels like proof of that.
As for Neeson who’s been more than a decade in while proliferating his own action stardom, Raimi seems confident.
“I don’t know if he’d do it,” Raimi said. “But he’d be incredible.”
Raimi’s latest effort now arrives with Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is out this weekend.
Check out the trailer for the 1990 film production of Darkman in the player below.
