Robert Zemeckis had been involved with a film adaptation in the 1980s, while Sam Raimi's pitch was ignored. Universal allowed Raimi to develop an original treatment inspired by The Shadow in 1987 with the development of Darkman. David Koepp had listened to the radio serial of The Shadow as a child, when CBS re-ran it on Sunday nights.
Robert Zemeckis had been involved in a film adaptation during the 1980s, while Sam Raimi's proposal was disregarded. Universal permitted Raimi to develop an original treatment based on The Shadow in 1987 with the creation of Darkman. David Koepp had listened to the radio series of The Shadow as a child when CBS re-broadcast it on Sunday nights.