The word over at Superhero Hype is the Lionsgate has already negotiated with Frank Miller to direct two sequels to his Sin City-style green screen comic book caper The Spirit. If true, this would indicate tremendously sweet buzz on the project, as the main character, a detective who fakes his death to more vigilantly pursue the criminal element, and the property, created in 1940 by Will Eisner, have less name value than a Dick Tracy or Green Hornet. Comparisons to The Shadow are apt and we all know how that turned out for Alec Baldwin. And title star Gabriel Macht (The Good Shepherd, The Recruit) is less known and box-off tested than an actor like Christian Bale pre-Batman Begins.
But the supporting cast is cake: Sam Jackson as megalomanical villain The Octopus and then there’s the Playboy Mansion grotto-stocked bevy of foxes including Scarlet Johansson, Jaime King, Eva Mendes, Paz Vega, Stana Ketic and Sarah Paulson. Actually, those ladies are beyond Hef’s grotto; more like rsvps to the Fountain of Youth. But as you can see from the film’s teaser poster, Miller isn’t updating The Spirit’s Mad Men-like duds, with the fedora, tie and a domino mask (which personally, I think should always stay in comic books) are intact.
Keeping the new trend of genre fare in January sizzling (i.e. Cloverfield, Rambo), The Spirit opens on January 16, 2009, less than two months before Zack Snyder’s similarly risky-old school comic adaptation Watchmen. Lionsgate being so sure that Miller’s film will connect with a mass audience, enough so to propel two more films just surprises to me, not to come off negative. Is The Spirit on your must-see list for 2009 and can you see it being a smash hit?
February 11th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I’ll wait for the trailer to decide
February 11th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Frank Miller is about to ruin one of the GREAT comic book heroes of the Golden/Silver Age!
As a fan of The Spirit, I’m not holding my breath on this one…
February 11th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Hunter: i think people are dying to see anything that resembles Sin City, since rodriguez & miller have been dragging their heels on SC2…so, if this does in fact bear a style ala Sin City, i think it could be big. also, i don’t think Snyder’s Watchmen is risky at all, i think it’ll be an absolute smash. easily bigger than the spirit, and with Haley as Rorshach, and Snyder’s respect for the original text, Watchmen will be huge.
February 11th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
@ O.C.
See, I don’t think that the Sin City style will keep pulling in audiences automatically, which attributed to Sin City’s and 300’s success. But those were also huge event films and good ones. There will be another Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow-type failure again for sure. I’m not saying The Spirit will be it or Watchmen, but I would put my money on Sin City and 300 against these two sight unseen. These both are more complex sells.
February 11th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I’m interested to see The Spirit, but I’ll make up mind in (probably) November or December when trailers/commercials start showing up.
However, the one thing I’m worried about is Sam Jackson as The Octopus, whose face is never seen in the comics. Not that I don’t think he’s a good choice, but I’m hoping for a Sam Jackson rubber mask at the end and Octopus is some other actor in a sequel.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hunter: your right about the sin city ’style-thing’, loosing it’s pull over people. the sin city sequels (if we ever see them) will do good, but movies in that style might not. also, if you haven’t yet (though you probably have) read watchmen, its really cool. maybe i’m just really pulling for it because of what it did for comics - i feel it kinda made people who weren’t into comics take them seriously, you know? that’s just my opinion, but i really think it has a good shot: director, source material, cast, following, etc…then again, those elements have led to disaster before, so we’ll see. i know nothing about the spirit comics, but i do find it curious that they green lit 2 sequels already. love Miller though.
February 12th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Gabriel Macht is going to be fantastic in this. He’s unbelievably handsome and can really act - have you seen “Love Song for Bobby Long?” He’s a terrific actor and everything he’s been in shines just a little more because of him. I can’t wait to see this film with Gabriel as the star. Finally, it’ll be his day!!!