Writer Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon") will direct Columbia Pictures "Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze", from a 1930's era screenplay he is co-writing with Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry.Neal Moritz will produce through his Sony-based Original Film.
"Doc Savage is an icon, a character with limitless possibilities," said Columbia co-president Matt Tolmach,"We have had a great experience working with Neal to bring another classic character of the era, the 'Green Hornet', to a new generation of fans, and we think he and Shane make the ideal team to bring Doc Savage back to the bigscreen."
'Doc Savage' debuted in pulp magazines during the 1930's created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L. Nanovic for Street and Smith Publications, with additional material contributed by series' author, Kenneth Robeson, aka 'Lester Dent'.
"Doc Savage" has since spun-off into radio, film, comic books and a series of 1960's Bantam paperback novels reprinting the original stories. 'Clark Savage, Jr.', physician, surgeon, scientist, adventurer was trained at an early age by scientists, assembled by his father, to develop the child's mind and body to near-super human abilities, giving him superior strength, endurance, intellect, photographic memory and a mastery of the martial arts.
The Doc Savage 'oath':
"...Let me strive every moment of my life to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it. Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice. Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage. Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do. Let me do right to all, and wrong no man..."
Savage is accompanied on his adventures by five characters, referred to as 'The Fabulous Five'.
'Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Blodgett "Monk" Mayfair' is an industrial chemist, earning his nickname because of his 'simian' build.
'Brigadier General Theodore Marley "Ham" Brooks' is an accomplished attorney and well-dressed man about town, who carries a sword cane with a blade dipped in anesthetic.
'Colonel John "Renny" Renwick' is a construction engineer, with "...fists like buckets of gristle and bone which no wooden door could withstand...". 'Major Thomas J. "Long Tom" Roberts' is an electrical engineer who got his nickname from using an antiquated cannon in the successful defense of a French village during World War I.
'William Harper "Johnny" Littlejohn' is an archaeologist and geologist.
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Doc Savage"...
