IRON MAN 3 Director Shane Black Still Wants to Bring DOC SAVAGE to the Big Screen
Iron Man 3 director Shane Black has never let go of his dream project. More than a decade after first signing on to make a Doc Savage movie, he still hopes to bring the pulp adventure hero to life in a big-budget film.
Black, who built his career writing action classics like Lethal Weapon, Predator, and Last Action Hero before stepping behind the camera with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, has a long history of tackling ambitious projects. Over the years, he’s helmed films like The Nice Guys, The Predator, and most recently Play Dirty. But the one that got away is still Doc Savage.
Back in the early 2010s, Black closed a deal with Sony Pictures to develop the film, with Dwayne Johnson attached to star. The project ultimately stalled, but Black hasn’t given up on it. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, he made it clear that the character is still close to his heart.
“I’ve always loved Doc Savage. It’s based on ‘30s pulp, and he was the OG superhero. His name was Clark [Savage Jr.], and he was literally described as a ‘super man.’ So the first Doc Savage [in 1933] was before Clark Kent/Superman [in 1938].
“He was the inspiration behind a generation of comic books and pulps and wonderful shit. So I would love, at some point, to revisit that The problem is that the IP is not a household name.
“It’s much easier to fund something at that level of expense if it has Batman or Superman attached, as opposed to something that is going to be just as expensive and is less of a household name.”
The issue, as Black points out, isn’t passion but practicality. A faithful Doc Savage movie would require a big budget to capture the pulpy, globe-trotting scope of the character’s adventures. Without a guaranteed box office draw like Batman or Superman, studios have been hesitant to greenlight it.
When asked about casting now that Johnson has stepped away from superhero projects, Black admitted it’s still an open question.
“I don’t know. The problem is that it has to be someone that you can approach a studio with and say, ‘It’s going to be $150 million. Minimum.’ Doc Savage is about an entire world of adventure, and it’s a ‘30s period piece.
“I wouldn’t want to modernize it. So, yeah, I would look into finding a way to do that, but I still don’t have an actor in mind. It would have to be someone compelling enough to get the studio to loosen up those purse strings for us.”
Black clearly has the vision and the passion, but it’s going to take the right star and studio to make Doc Savage happen. Until then, fans can only wonder what his take on the pulp legend would look like on the big screen.