Comic Book Resources interviewed IRON MAN 3 director Shane Black (KISS KISS BANG BANG) about his collaboration with actor Robert Downey Jr. on the upcoming Marvel movie. 
Bringing up his other genre projects (such as DEATH NOTE), Black affirmed that he’s still interested in doing DOC SAVAGE, a film adaptation of the famous pulp magazine hero from the 1930’s and `40’s.
“I do want to do DOC SAVAGE. The script is still evolving and I’m kind of busy, but I want to get it right and I want to do it… if we do DOC SAVAGE, the challenge is make it adult. I think that there are so few practitioners of action movies these days who are doing worthwhile stuff that it behooves me to try to weigh in and try to do the “Raiders Of The Lost Ark”-type stuff, to try to recapture the magic.”
Shane Black does have a track record in action movies, wrting LETHAL WEAPON while still in his 20’s, and later LETHAL WEAPON II, THE LAST BOY SCOUT and others.
Doc Savage was adapted for radio twice in the 30’s and 40’s, though no recordings are known to exist. A number of scripts survive.
In the 1960’s and 70’s paperback reprints of the Doc Savage novels became a huge success, bring the character back from obscurity for a new generation of readers.
This led to an unfortunately campy 1975 Warner Brothers film starring former TV Tarzan Ron Ely, produced by George Pal and directed by Michael Anderson.
In the Street & Smith pulps written by Lester Dent (as Kenneth Robeson). Doctor Clark Savage, Jr. led a group of adventurers, The Amazing Five, experts in various fields of sciences and (mostly) rough and tumble fighters as well.
National Public Radio did an audio drama revival in the 1980’s which was generally well-received.
The Man of Bronze, with his arctic Fortress of Solitude, was one of the inspirations for the Man of Steel, Superman.
