Shane Black to Helm ‘Doc Savage’ Movie

Not many people outside of the world of film know Shane Black by name, but most certainly do by reputation. Black is best known for being the driving creative writing force behind such films as Monster Squad, Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and all of the good Lethal Weapon films.

Black has been bouncing around for the past few years, with rumors that he would be working on a revamped Doc Savage property, with Schwarzenegger as a strong contender back in the 90s. Well, Arnie may be out, but Black is most definitely in, definitely writing and possibly directing, according to Collider.

“[the film] will be set in the 30s and not modernize the story….The producers of “Doc Savage” are Neil Moritz and Ori Marmur.  They’re the guys who are also producing “The Green Hornet”, “Battle: Los Angeles”, and “Jack the Giant Killer.”  Furthermore, they have a deal at Sony so if the film gets made, “Doc Savage” will be made at Sony.”

So not only will Black be taking on writing duties, but the producers and studio behind Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry’s Green Hornet will be putting the film together, which could mean that we could get a quasi-serious film in the vain of Iron Man, which is nothing but good news.

For those who aren’t familiar with the character, Doc Savage was one of the original “Pulp Heroes”, alongside The Shadow and Tarzan. He was essentially Captain America meets Johnny Quest’s Race Bannon, solving mysteries and righting wrongs. His formula is inspirational to dozens of comic and fictional characters to this day, and it will be interesting to see if the man behind Bruce Willis’ “funny hero” in The Last Boy Scout can capture the same thing here.