36 Years Later, Sam Raimi's Underrated Sci-Fi Horror Is Finally Getting A Reboot
Sam Raimi's first superhero movie is getting a new lease on life from two huge fans.
It’s not unusual for a superhero movie director to try their hand at the genre with something a little more obscure before moving into a recognizable franchise. Some directors make it work for them, like James Gunn, who went from 2010’s Super to being co-president of DC Studios. Other times, it doesn’t go as well, like Josh Trank making Chronicle before making 2015’s Fantastic Four.
But in perhaps the best example of this pattern, one of the most renowned franchise directors ever made a gritty noir superhero movie — and now it’s coming back from two directors who loved the original.
Darkman is a great blend of sci-fi, horror, and superhero all in one.
According to Dread Central, Sam Raimi’s 1990 superhero movie Darkman is getting a new sequel from Brian Netto and Adam Schindler, directors of the Netflix horror movie Don’t Move, which was produced by Raimi. There’s no word as to what this movie would cover, but it’s clearly been in the works for a while. “If we’re talking Sam-related, it’s Darkman. We talked about Darkman [with him]. We’ve got a love and an affinity for Darkman,” Schindler told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. “Darkman was my favorite film for a good portion of my life,” Netto added. “It was the movie, so Darkman would be really interesting.”
Darkman, originally starring Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand, follows the story of a scientist left misfigured by an attack by a gangster who uses his newfound superpowers and his experimental skin replacement to impersonate a criminal and wreak his vengeance. It doesn’t bear much resemblance to the Spider-Man trilogy, but in retrospect, it serves as a great transition from his pure horror films to the righteous vengeance superhero movies in his future. In the most complimentary way possible: it’s his Toxic Avenger.
Adam Schindler and Brian Netto, directors of Don’t Move, are developing a new Darkman movie.
Darkman did spawn two sequels, but they were straight-to-video, Liam Neeson didn’t reprise his role, and Raimi only served as executive producer. Needless to say, they didn’t draw the same audience, so it’s likely this movie will be a reboot or remake of the original movie, not Darkman 4.
Superhero movies have now become so common that something like a new Darkman would be just as refreshing now as it was in 1990. If The Toxic Avenger can come back, then so can Darkman.
