Not Pulp Fiction. The Nineties were a sort of awkward era in superhero films. It felt like they were supposed to be more of a thing in the wake of Batman, but even that franchise died off and there were more failures and films stuck in development hell than successes. There were more superhero films than just remembered today, and those include the three films this thread is focused on: The Rocketeer (1991), The Shadow (1994), and The Phantom (1996). Those three films were an attempt to explore a genre where, if successful, more Hollywood films would have likely followed suit. These obviously owe something to Indiana Jones and the newly found infatuation with that pulp feel. However, these films failed either critically or financially, killing a potential film trend in the cradle, as well as denying those films the sequels and franchises they were planned to have, and further suffocating that first era of superhero films.
What if, and how can those films be successful?
What if, and how can those films be successful?