You knew that having Billy Zane come to Australia meant that you were going to get bombarded with podcasts, right? First up in the series is an insight into Adelaide Supanova through the eyes of one who was there. Phantom phan Sean reflects on his experiences and passes on his advice, before taking us into the audience of Billy's Q&A panel session. A massive thank you to Sean for sending these recordings in for us all - we know listeners are going to enjoy this. Until Brisbane, Happy Phantoming! #Supanova #XBand #Podcast #BillyZane

When we said back in the show notes for #132A, "You knew that having Billy Zane come to Australia meant that you were going to get bombarded with podcasts, right?", we had no idea that we'd be wedging in an actual sit-down podcast interview with the man himself (#133) . As it turns out, we did! That's meant that a bit of a delay with the Brisbane recordings coming out, but so be it! A word of warning - the Phantom panel with the Frew guys ( Glenn Ford, Jamie Johnson, Andrew Constant, Paul Mason & Jeremy Macpherson ) is not the best quality audio in the world, but it is worth listening to if you can persevere. The Frew Crew reflections are certainly worth a listen, as they provide a peek behind the curtain of the artist's grind, as well as an interesting morsel or two regarding future plans! 4m30 Billy Zane Q&A 7m20 The Phantom Panel 53m Frew Crew reflections Make sure you've signed the petition for a new The Phantom movie. Check the tape: Billy says you have to! #Supanova #XBand #Podcast #BillyZane #Frew #GlennFord #JamieJohnson #AndrewConstant #DrPaulMason #JeremyMacpherson

Pre-sale orders have been placed and final checks are happening - we are getting ever closer to the launch of the much-anticipated Phantom video game from Art of Play games. As part of the run-in to launch, this week the Australian based company has announced a competition being conducted in conjunction with the release of their T he Phantom Game has been announced, and the prize is a ripper. First place is nothing less than an 'Original Superheroes' NECA Phantom figurine signed by the Phantom movie star himself, Billy Zane , together with a Mega-Phan Digital Pack of The Phantom Game of the winner's choice! Five lucky runners-up will also be rewarded with a Digital Phan Pack of The Phantom Game on the platform of their choice. Entering is a pretty simple three step process. Steps 1 and 2 are your "buy-in" to the competition, with the ultimate winners being chosen on merit from Step 3! STEP 1: Subscribe to the Art Of Play YouTube channel OR add The Phantom game to your wishlist on STEAM . STEP 2: Email the Art of Play team at win@artofplaygames.com with a screenshot showing your subscription or wishlist addition. STEP 3: In the same email, tell the Art of Play team in 25 words or less which Phantom artist you admire and why. You have a little while to consider your favoured Phantom artist, with entries closing at midnight AEDST on Feb 10th, 2025. Winners will be announced on Feb 20th, 2025, on the Art of Play official Facebook page  and their main website https://thephantomgame.com/ Click on these links for all of the Terms & Conditions for the competition, as well as their Privacy Policy . We trust that everyone reading this and/or considering purchasing the game jumps into the contest, and all the best of luck to each of you!

Well, I think it’s safe to say no one saw this coming… According to ComicBook.com , website The Tracking Board reports that British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, know for films such as Borat, Ali G, Sweeny Todd, Alice: Through the Looking Glass and others, will don the top hate and cape for the lead role for the upcoming Hollywood Mandrake the Magician film. The report goes on to say that the movie will be directed by Etan Cohen, who was behind Get Hard but is better known for his screenwriting on films such as Tropic Thunder and Idiocracy. The report on The Tracking Board goes on to say that the film will be a 21st century “update” of the character and that the story will revolve around the US government recruiting Mandrake for a secret mission. This is interesting because, as those of who have been with us for a while may note, this is rather similar to a previously planed Mandrake film that was to star Johnathan Rhys-Meyers. At one point the film was recast with Hayden Christensen, but it still didn’t go anywhere. The article gives a brief rundown of the long-in-development-hell project saying: The project has been in development for years, undergoing multiple variations at the hands of several writers and producers. Previously, Disney and the Jacobson Company were developing the project, where a number of writers, including Peter Magill, David Levien, and Brian Koppelman all turned in drafts. Hyde Park and Baldwin Entertainment were developing the story with writers Tom Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, with Josh Richmond writing the original adaptation based on Falk’s comic strip. Directors Chuck Russell and Mimi Leder were previously attached, while Jonathan Rhys Meyers was once attached to star. Now, with Baron Cohen attached to the lead and Etan Cohen on board to direct, it looks like the project has momentum once again. The big question is, of course, will the movie get off the ground this time? With Cohen involved it suggests the film might be turned into a comedy, but then lots of comedic actors have also done serious roles and as anyone who has seen Hugo will attest, Cohen is able to do serious. Whatever the result, it’s sure to be better than the thankfully-never-made Criss Angel Mandrake film (shudder!).

As part of the 80th Anniversary celebrations, a Phantom Film Festival will be held in Örebro, Sweden on May 28th. The event will take place at the Roxy movie theatre from 11 am to 6 pm, and the following will be shown: The 1943 Movie Serial (edited) The 1996 Theatrical Movie The 2009 SyFy Miniseries Tickets will cost 150 SEK until May 12 or 200 SEK after that. Snacks and beverages will be available for sale. Facebook page for the event HERE . Website and ticket sales HERE . Örebro is close enough to Bålsta to make it worth for far away visitors to combine the Film Festival with a visit to the Wilson McCoy exhibition during the same weekend. Also, if you travel via Stockholm, make sure to see the Phantom statue with your own eyes! Use the Facebook event page to get in touch with the organizers or post a question HERE if you want help. #80th #1943Serial #1996movie #SyFy #WilsonMcCoy

Things have started rumbling again in the Phantom movie space. After several false starts it looks the star of the 1996 Phantom film, Billy Zane, might be working on plans for a follow up. Comics website The Superhero Method contacted Billy via his Twitter account asking about when we might see the Ghost Who Walks once more on the big screen. Mr. Zane’s reply was interesting to say the least. What exactly this means we can’t be sure, but it seems that Billy Zane is actively trying to get another Phantom film off the ground. Whether it’ll be a reboot or a true sequel remains to be seen as does whether Billy himself will be in the film. Still, it’s all very exciting. More news as it develops. Thanks to Mark Haywood for spotting this!

Not since Defenders of the Earth (1986-1987) and Phantom 2040 (1994-1996) has the Phantom been a part of an animated adventure. Now, we are less than a week away from the debut of a brand new Phantom animation, with a Kid Phantom short film about to be screened for the first time! It's been just on a month since it was revealed live at the Brisbane Oz ComicCon Kid Phantom panel (and subsequently on Episode 76 of X-Band: The Phantom Podca st ) that the original creators of the comic book series were leading the development of a Kid Phantom animated film. Kid Phantom: Homework will be featured among the student showcase of films for the graduates of Griffith Film School animation, and is one of 13 short animations in the showcase. The adaptation by the Griffith Film School graduating animation class of 2017 is based on Frew Publications' Kid Phantom comic book series, with Frew co-directors Glenn Ford and Rene White on board as Executive Producers. ChronicleChamber has reached out to Kid Phantom artist and Homework Supervising Director Dr Paul Mason , who has provided us with the following synopsis of the film: Homework on a bright, sunny day can be tough to focus on at the best of times; it’s even worse when you live in the jungles of Bangalla, and you’re the heir to the legacy of The Phantom! Young Kit Walker, destined to be the 21st Phantom, finds himself in this very predicament. Until that is, the call to adventure beckons Kid Phantom to action...whether his Mum and Dad approve or not! Paul tells us "the Kid Phantom film project is a short animated film idea co-created in partnership between the Animation department of the Griffith Film School (Griffith University, Southbank, QLD) and Frew Publications. I brought the concept to GFS with the approval of Glenn Ford and Dr. Peter Moyes (Head of Animation at GFS). The aim was to allow graduating 3rd year GFS Animation students (and assisting 2nd years) the access and opportunity to work on an industry-connected property and group-based production, to add this material to their experience, demo reels and CVs." Paul is extremely proud of the production, and if the stills included throughout this page are any indication, his pride is well justified. "The team of the "GFS Jungle Patrol" have done an amazing job in a short amount of time to bring professional-level animation back to the jungles of Bangalla. The talented students who worked on the project from pre-production to the final film, drove the animated creation of this short adventure starring Kid Phantom, and bring to the table their own sensibilities and abilities while interpreting the style and art direction of the Kid Phantom comic books." Details of the screenings next week at Griffith Film School are below. Paul and the "GFS Jungle Patrol" are currently exploring options for screenings at other festivals around Australia as well. There are hopes to make the film available to phans worldwide through online platforms, but this will have to wait until after the festival circuit, with many Film festivals having strict entry requirements stating that entries must not be available online. Watch this space on that one! Some of key credits include: KID PHANTOM “Homework” Written by Andrew Constant and Paul Mason ​ A film by the GFS Jungle Patrol Directed by Rye Elms, Jacob Mackay Produced by Rye Elms, Jacob Mackay, Karis Spencer Executive Producers Glenn Ford and Rene White ​ Supervising Director Paul Mason Features concepts and animation by Rye Elms, Michel Gerencir, Yael Gilbert, Jacob Mackay, Gabby Hanrahan, Eric H Lin, Ryan O’Dwyer, Alex Pracas, Karis Spencer, Juné Du Plessis Duration: 2mins 30 secs Kid Phantom: Homework will actually screen three times during the week, with all screenings to be held at the Griffith Film School in South Brisbane: - Monday 30th October at 7pm (sold out at time of writing) - Monday 30th October at 8pm - Thursday 2nd November at 5pm . Click here for more information about the event, and to register for your free entry to the showcase. #KidPhantom #AndrewConstant #DrPaulMason #ReneWhite #GlennFord #Phantom2040 #DefendersoftheEarth #Frew

YouTube channel Midnight's Edge , who are know for their deep analysis of film, TV and pop culture, have created a special video looking back at the 1996 The Phantom film. The video is not a simple re-review of the film nor a fan assessment with a more mature mind. Rather, the video goes behind the scenes of the making of the film, intelligently discusses why it may not have been successful in America and why it had the tone and Indiana Jones -like feel it did. An incredibly interesting and well put together video, it is well worth a watch for every phan, be those that enjoyed the film or no. If you enjoyed the video, be sure to check out Midnight's Edge previous Phantom video which they released for the character's 80th anniversary. #BillyZane #1996movie #YouTube

In a quick conversation to round out the podcast month, Jermayn and Dan discuss something that we once only dreamed about: not one but two new Phantom films! While the Phantom phandom waits for Hollywood to take their next foray into the world of the Ghost Who Walks, filmmakers on two different continents are releasing their take on our favourite hero: Choloman Oshoriri from Dreamcity Artists in Kolkata India, and Kid Phantom: Homework from Griffith Film School in Brisbane Australia. In a podcast of two parts, Germ and Dan sit down together to watch both the trailer for Choloman (see below - the full feature is due out late November) and the complete Homework film, and share their thoughts! #XBand #Podcast #KidPhantom #CholomanOshoriri

The Daily Mail has featured an interview with Australian director Simon Wincer about the story behind the filming of the 1996 The Phantom movie. With the 20th anniversary of the film just around the corner, it’s a timely reminder of just how much effort was involved in bringing the Ghost Who Walks to the big screen. The article talks about the long, difficult road the Phantom has toward his first big screen appearance, discusses the cult following the movie has earned since its VHS and DVD release, how the film exposed Catherine Zeta-Jones to the world and the difficulties of shooting sophisticated action scenes with 1996’s unsophisticated technology. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit from the article, or at least the most exciting, is that Wincer confirms there is “talk” of a Phantom reboot or sequel. This gives strength to the rumor started by Billy Zane’s tweet recently. You can read the full article at the DailyMail.co.uk website . Thanks to Thomas Askjellerud for spotting this. #1996movie #BillyZane #SimonWincer

Further to the breaking news (below), the trailer for CHOLOMAN OSHORIRI-The Ghost Who Walks has been released on YouTube. Enjoy! 10th October - Jermayn By now you would have seen the news from Facebook about the new Indian Bengali short film that will be released in November 2017. While some are viewing it with some hesitation the team at Chronicle Chamber is excited and we have spent some time communicating with the director and team behind this. Some news is kind of sketchy at the moment so let's inform you what we have learnt so far. This is not a big Hollywood production that some of us have been hoping for and which one day sooner than later become reality with some news trickling through the last couple of months. This is a legacy movie detailing the mythos and how the character came about instead of based in the 1500’s, it is based in todays modern world. This is done mainly due to budget restraints that it is easier and cheaper to do a story in todays world than the 1500’s. From what I understand this is the end of the differences. So you will see Kit Walker in 2016 after seeing his father murdered by pirates. Christopher Standish, the 28 year old co-runner of "Walker Foundation" an NGO from Kolkata sets out to the interiors of the coastal mangrove forests of Bengal to supply free medicine to the tribals. On the way their boat gets attacked by cross border pirates and Chris' father is killed in an attempt to save his son. Thrown overboard Chris ends up in Bandar and is nursed back to health by the tribal quack Shukhiya Guran. In agony and anger of his father's death Chris swears on the skull of his father's assassin to end all evil and destroys all identities of Christopher Standish. Adopting the alias of Kit Walker and equipped with an advanced battle armour, Kit becomes the first Phantom. Basically it is directed, acted and filmed by a bunch of theatre and film students. Sagardeep Roy plays Christopher Standish/Kit Walker/Betaal. Betaal is the Phantoms name in Bengali which is a state in India and is the closest name to the Phantoms home country off Bengalla. The FIlm group released a film about the origin story of another very popular bengali character called Feluda on its 50th year of publishing, which had managed to find a solid audience and was appreciated. They then realised Phantom was heading for its 80th Anniversary and the rest s history. As with their release of Feluda, the Phantoms movie will be released on the web via youtube and facebook and will be having English subtitles for the phans who do not speak the local language. Down the track English dubbing will be made available. No news yet if it will be released via DVD but with it released on the web, everyone will be able to and enjoy it as soon as it is released. Again this is a fan made short film movie, made by phans of the character. It is NOT licensed due to budget restraints and While this is made in India, there will be no Bollywood style mass songs, so you will not see our hero dancing up a number. It will be action. No word yet on the length of the movie. We will post all news as it comes to light including a review once its released in November. #1996movie #CholomanOshoriri

A lot of phans are suddenly very excited with the news from India Times about Ronnie Screwvala and Vasan Bala securing the rights to create a Phantom film . To many Indians Ronnie and Vasan are household names, but non-Indians may not know much about these men and their standing in the industry. This article goes into some detail, showing that these two are a great choice to be the powers, influence and money behind this proposed new Phantom film. Ronnie Screwvala is a veteran in the movie industry having founded UTV Motion Pictures in the 1990's. He has produced over 80 movies that include box-office blockbusters, as well as winners of the prestigious Indian National Film Awards. Ronnie sold UTV to Disney for a reported enterprise value of US $1.4 billion. Since then, he has ventured into EdTech and sports, where he owns sports leagues and teams. In the last few years he's moved back into the media and entertainment industry with RSVP Movies , a film production house. The writer and director of the proposed project, Vasan Bala , may only have a couple of movies under his belt so far but they were critically acclaimed. In fact, Vasan and Ronnie worked together on one of them! Their 2018 collaboration Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota [The Man Who Feels No Pain] is reviewed very positively on Rotten Tomatoes and looks on its way to also becoming a cult classic. Bollywood remains the world’s largest film industry measured by number of movies produced each year, but outside India the industry has been more popularly identified with rom-coms and musicals. In recent years however, Bollywood has been experimenting in cinema with a whole lot of new acting, writing and directing talent emerging. New avenues such as web series and streaming originals by Netflix and Amazon Prime , with producers / entrepreneurs backing offbeat movies and themes, have increased competition in the industry. Ronnie and Vasan have already acquired the screen adaptation rights for The Phantom and the team has begun research on the story. Given they’ve worked together in the past, Ronnie’s track record in the Indian film industry, and the speed with which the team is moving, this movie appears all set to happen in 2020 (perhaps with a potential release in 2021). A comic book hero based movie project usually requires a big budget. With Ronnie’s backing, this proposed The Phantom movie seems to have found the necessary financial clout to make it a reality soon. I hope this brief look into the two men will help excite phans even more. Finally a new movie is coming to life that we can all get behind! #RonnieScrewvala #VasanBala #2021movie

Thanks to Thomas Askjellerud for the heads up that the London based auction company Props Store Auctions will be auctioning a full costume of the Phantom worn by Billy Zane from the Hollywood 1996 movie. You can bid here The auction company has listed this piece starting at £10,000 and expect it to go between the £20,000-£30,000 range which is €23,000 to €35,000, $36,000Au to $55,000Au, $22,500US to $33,500US and 253,000 sek/nok to 380,000 sek/nok. If anyone is going to be watching this and could report on the finished price, please contact us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com . The website has the following information associated with it along with some amazing high detailed images. These images will also find their way onto our Phantom Preservation Project for future reference. This lot will be auctioned on Thursday, November 3rd. The auction will begin at 3:00PM GMT and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Friday, November 4th; Saturday, November 5th; or Sunday, November 6th. The Phantom's (Billy Zane) costume from Simon Wincer's superhero film The Phantom. The Phantom wore his costume throughout the film as he fought against injustice. Created by Lee Falk in 1936, The Phantom was the first superhero to wear a skintight costume, something which has become a hallmark of the superhero genre. The costume was fabricated by Jim Henson's Creature Shop and comprises a neoprene rubber cowl with a suede lining for Zane's comfort; a black plastic eye mask; a long-sleeved top; a pair of trunks; leggings; a pair of black leather boots; and a leather belt and holster adorned with metal skull emblems. The top and leggings are made of an elasticated fabric, with a muscle print and a fine mesh layer, which is designed to be figure hugging. The costume is displayed on a custom-built mannequin featuring a lifecast of Zane's face taken from a production-used cast, and has very minor wear from age and use, including some plucking to the fabric in small areas, and a small amount of repair to the nose bridge of the mask. Dimensions (display): 48 cm x 96 cm x 193 cm (19" x 37 3/4" x 76")

Drew Struzan created iconic posters for Star Wars , Indiana Jones , Back To The Future , and countless other films, including creating two 1996 Phantom movie concepts that sadly never went to market. Sadly, after a battle with the horrible disease of Alzheimer's, he passed away in early October 2025. “ Drew made event art, ” Steven Spielberg said in a statement (via Variety ). “ His posters made many of our movies into destinations… and the memory of those movies and the age we were when we saw them always comes flashing back just by glancing at his iconic photorealistic imagery. In his own invented style, nobody drew like Drew .” In looking at the two Phantom concept posters attached, we phans can only think about what could have been if Paramount , the marketing team, and the execs had decided to go with these poster designs over the Slam Evil design. Rest in peace, and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, children, family, and friends in this time of reflection and mourning.

Closing out October, Phantom 2040: A New Shadow - "Heir Apparent" released on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. This release right before Halloween is kismet, as our protagonist, Carlos Oserio, makes a Halloween joke about one of the episode's developments. The story also inches closer to that action opener that kicked off episode 1 over a month back. Read Phantom 2040: A New Shadow Episode 4 Here . After plenty of characters talking about him for a couple episodes, we're finally introduced to series villain Charles Tyrus. This tech magnate, whose villainy definitely precedes him, unveils his latest discovery in the Ghost Jungle , and one can presume that it's going to be the catalyst for an explosive next couple of episodes. If you've been watching our reviews, this episode continues our main critique of too much telling over showing. The art by John Amor remains a delight to look at, especially the neon colors of this dystopian nightmare-scape that our characters find themselves in. That said, we're looking forward to where Alex Segura , Michael Moreci , and John Amor take us next! Phantom 2040: A New Shadow art by John Amor Question for the Phans: What did you think of the big reveal this episode? Did it work for you: Why or why not? Let us know by commenting below this article, on our YouTube, or by dropping us a line . We'd love to hear your thoughts!