'SPIRIT' TEASER LEAKED - MILLER'S NEW HERO IS COMING

Hmmm... As much as I like the tone and feel of retro, Depression-era superhero tales, they've never really done well at the box office. Anyone remember the ill-fated film incarnations of "The Shadow," "The Phantom" or "The Rocketeer"?

That said, the above films didn't have the magic touch of comic book legend Frank Miller, famous for such celluloid extravaganzas as "Sin City" (which he co-directed with Robert Rodriguez) and "300" (which he didn't helm but write the comic).

His next movie project is "The Spirit" (also known as Will Eisner's 'The Spirit'), an upcoming 2009 film adaptation based on the vintage newspaper strip of the same name. It centers on a rookie cop who returns from the dead to fight crime in Central City from the shadows. Check out its "Sin City"-esque teaser below. Looks way cool...




Frank Miller wrote and directed the film, which stars Gabriel Macht as The Spirit and Samuel L. Jackson as his nemesis, The Octopus. Scarlett Johansson is Silken Floss, a femme fatale secretary and accomplice to the Octopus and sexy Eva Mendes stars as Sand Saref (pictured, at left).

Miller says that the film will be more contemporary than the '40s and '50s era of the strip and will aim for a "timeless feel." The protagonist will be involved in a love triangle with Sand Saref and Ellen Dolan, the daughter of Central City's Police Commissioner Dolan.

On the hero, Miller says: "The character has a terrifying side to him. This is a man who’s died and came back to life. So it twists into fantasy. And of course there are tons of women in it. There have to be — it’s The Spirit. They’re all in love with him, and he’s in love with all of them. You might say he’s a bit of a slut."

Filming began in October 2007, with release scheduled for Jan. 16, 2009.