Sydney-based Sherlock Symington Productions has secured the rights to “The Phantom Legacy”, a $130 million blockbuster effort that they say will bring a spotlight focus onto the Australian industry.

There have been two previous attempts at bringing The Phantom to life, such as the 1943 movie serials starring Tom Tyler, and the more well-known film released in 1996 starring Billy Zane, which met with mixed critical reactions.

Tim Boyle has been tapped to write and possibly direct the film, and he says that he intends to focus the story on the father/son dynamic of “The Phantom” and will not be connected to the 1996 version, hoping to bring their own take to the legacy of the long-running character, known for his purple tights, pistols, and skull ring.

The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk. A popular feature adapted into many forms of media, including television and film, it stars a costumed hero operating from an Asiatic jungle also known as “The Ghost Who Walks”, the latest in a lineage of crime fighters that traces its roots back to the 16th century. The Phantom is considered, while not the first comic vigilante, the first to wear the skintight costume and have a mask with pupil-less eyes, a trend that has continued to this day. The series initially as a daily newspaper strip in 1936, followed by a color Sunday strip in 1939, both of which are still running as of 2008.

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By Costa Koutsoutis, (Source: MTV)