After paying his dues in the indie world, it was time for Sam Raimi to make a honest-to-god major studio film. His opportunity to do so came in the late 1980s, on the heels of the massive success of Tim Burton's BATMAN, which set off a wave of imitators.

And Sam Raimi wanted in the superhero game. He had, in fact, been trying to get a superhero movie off the ground for years, but the success of BATMAN was the impediment he needed to make that happen. When he was unable to get the rights to an existing hero, he made one of his own: DARKMAN.

Unfortunately, his first project with a major studio — in this case, Universal — was fraught with interference, but the resulting film is still one of his most beloved. In this episode, we'll track DARKMAN from its earliest days, through its production, release, and legacy, and how all of that effected the direction of Raimi's career.

Watch the unaired DARKMAN TV pilot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgiScRY0FRA

GoFundMe for Alyssa Fowler: https://gofund.me/60e5d127

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, and Todd A. Davis.