Disney, fresh from its $4 billion (£2.4 billion) acquisition of Marvel Comics, home of Spider-Man and Iron Man, may add to its stable of superheroes — this time in the shape of a franchise that traces its inspiration back more than 2,000 years.

The American media group has held talks with Vimanika Comics, an Indian start-up that publishes novels based on ancient Hindu mythology. The discussions could result in the latest effort by a Western media giant to tap the developing world’s appetite for religiously inspired superheroes.

Vimanika, which publishes in English and in Hindi, is run by Karanvir Arora, 27, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur, and is targeting a potentially huge readership. About 80 per cent of India’s 1.2 billion people are Hindu and half are below 25. It has been operating for a year and sells its comics in India and the United States. It will begin distribution in Britain this month.

The talks with Disney are thought to have centred on the possibility of bringing Vimanika’s characters — which include Karna, the greatest warrior in the Mahabharata, the ancient Sanskrit epic — to television and film.

Disney already has a foothold in India, mainly via the £100 million investment that it made last year in UTV, the Bollywood studio.

Its rivals have found success already with revamped mythology. Cartoon Network, the cable channel owned by Turner Broadcasting, started out in the subcontinent a decade ago by dubbing Western shows in regional languages. It soon turned to local animators for local content, such as Krishna Balarama, which told the story of a Hindu god. Last year Turner invested in its own Indian production facilities.

In 2006, Sir Richard Branson founded Virgin Comics, a venture that also sought inspiration from ancient texts. Its most celebrated creation was Ramayan 3392 AD, a new version of the Ramayana, the original of which may date back to the 4th century BC, set in a post-apocalyptic future. Liquid Comics of New York completed a management buyout of the company last year. It is said to be working with Mandalay Pictures, which co-produced Donnie Brasco and Seven Years in Tibet, on a film version of the comic.

Endemol, the Dutch company, has signed a deal with Teshkeel Comics, of Kuwait, publisher of The 99, which has taken the Arab world by storm.

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