Matthew Vaughn will save, with a mighty hand, every man, every woman, every child… with a mighty Flash. Flash Gordon, that is. The director of Kingsman: The Secret Service and X-Men: First Class is now in talks to helm a feature film reboot of the beloved pulp hero, originally created by artist Alex Raymond in 1934. The original comic strip ran from 1934 to 1943, although different versions of the strip have been published as recently as 2003.
Flash Gordon, an American athlete rocketed to the planet Mongo to do battle with the tyrannical Ming the Merciless, was first adapted to the screen in a 1936 film serial, which helped to inspire George Lucas’s Star Wars, after Lucas’s plans to remake Flash Gordon fell through. A Flash Gordon movie was then produced after the success of Star Wars to capitalize on the newly popular space opera genre. The 1980 film was a moderate box office success, and eventually established a cult following due to its campy tone, imaginative production design and totally awesome original soundtrack by Queen.
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But of late, attempts to reboot Flash Gordon have proved unsuccessful. Breck Eisner (Sahara) was set to direct a feature film version on 2010, which fell through. The SyFy Network brought Flash Gordon to television for a single season in 2007-2008, but it changed many aspects of the hero’s winning formula, and on top of that: it wasn’t very good.
And yet, Flash Gordon never went away. Flash Gordon movie star Sam J. Jones appeared as himself in the hit 2013 comedy Ted, playing up his cult status in a memorable cameo. Last year, 20th Century Fox announced that plans were underway to remake Flash Gordon again, with a script by J.D. Payne and Patrick McCay, based on a story by George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau). That script is still in play, according to Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news of Matthew Vaughn’s involvement.
Given the popularity of Vaughn’s fantastical action films Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service and X-Men: First Class, it would appear that the filmmaker is an ideal choice for the material. He has repeatedly proven that he can balance action, humor and emotional drama in equal measure, which is just what Flash Gordon probably needs to become a blockbuster.
No word yet on a possible release date for Flash Gordon, but once Vaughn’s involvement becomes official, this project may start coming together very quickly. Stay tuned to CraveOnline for more updates!
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
