According to Deadline, Sony Pictures Television and its partner studio Original Film have partnered with Condé Nast entertainment to develop a television series based on the pulp comic book superhero.
Condé Nast Entertainment acquired the entirety of the Street and Smith Library (publishers of the original Doc Savage comic books) in 1959.
Before Superman, during the age of the American pulp magazine, Doc Savage reigned supreme. The legendary physician, scientist, adventurer, detective, inventor, and explorer extraordinaire conquered the silver screen, comic books, and radio in the early 20th century. Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee has even gone as far as to credit Doc Savage, “The Bronze Man”, as being the forerunner to the modern superhero. Though the comic’s popularity faded by the mid 1940s, hope for a modern retelling of the series remains alive.
Clark Savage Jr., Doc Savage’s secret identity, was trained from birth by a team of elite scientists recruited by his father and thus was given superhuman abilities to battle villainy.
Pulp Magazines featured the first comics and were published from the late 19th through the mid 20th century. They were early inexpensive sources of entertainment for the masses to enjoy short fictional stories. The term “pulp” derives from the cheap wood pulp paper that the stories were printed on.
However, Savage’s transition from book to screen has not been an easy one.
In 2013, a Doc Savage film was announced to be in production by Sony. Three years later, Dwayne Johnson was reported to be starring in the film. However, due to business complications, the film was never completed. Many believed the project to be abandoned due to the long silence.
Original Film, headed by founder and producer Neal H. Moritz, has successfully adapted other popular comic franchises such as Happy! and The Boys to television.
Condé Nast Entertainment acquired the entirety of the Street and Smith Library (publishers of the original Doc Savage comic books) in 1959.
Moritz believes that television would be a better medium for the Savage due to the many entertaining adventures that the studio had inspiration to draw upon. Invisible assassins, futuristic technology, giant spiders, teleporters, and enemies from the center of the Earth only make up a small fraction of the possible tales that may be told. The studio may take a similar direction as The Boys, another super hero oriented show that hit Amazon Prime last year received rave reviews.
As of yet, the premiere date, title, and cast are unknown as the show is early in its production infancy.