While it was previously thought that Matthew Vaughn (of X-Men: First Class and Kingsman fame) was in line to direct a revamping of the classic Flash Gordon concept, it now looks as if Fox have asked Julius Avery to helm the project with Vaughn settling in to the role of producer. Avery’s latest project is the war-time horror film Overlord, which is hitting the multiplexes on 9th November and is getting a considerable publicity campaign ahead of release.
Of course, the character of Flash Gordon, created as a syndicated comics strip by Alex Raymond in 1934, has now been around for the better part of a century. He has featured in printed form, radio, television, stage productions and film with the character often partnered by girlfriend Dale Arden and scientist Hans Zarkov and famously battling against such foes as Ming the Merciless, the evil emperor of Mongo. He was portrayed in those early black and white 1930s’ ‘Saturday morning serials‘ by Buster Crabbe and inspired generations of science-fiction fans and writers (George Lucas essentially wrote Star Wars as a love letter to the stories). The character appeared in the somewhat more camp 1980s big-screen version starring Sam Jones, boasting the famous soundtrack by no less than Queen.
In 2007, the character was once again revived for the television screen with Smallville star Eric Johnson assuming the title role for the Sci-Fi Channel, but the show only ran for one season.
There’s no word yet on time-frame or casting for the new big-screen adaptation…
