Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon is set to return to the big screen, as 20th Century Fox have today closed a deal to pick up the rights to the character in a package which has J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay on board to write the script.

The duo are currently hard at work on Star Trek 3, and producer John Davis  (Chronicle, Man from U.N.C.L.E.) is spearheading the project and actually brought on George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum, The Adjustment Bureau) to pen a treatment. Nolfi will now also serve as a producer on the movie.

Payne and McKay are also responsible for adapting graphic novel Boilerplate and a big screen take on 1970s toyline Micronauts for J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, so it’s clear that they’ve impressed him enough to land a job on Star Trek 3 despite being relative newcomers.

Flash Gordon was created in 1934 by artist Alex Raymond and along with the love interest Dale Arden and mad scientist Hans Zasrkov, Gordon ended up on the planet Mongo fighting its tyrannical ruler, Ming the Merciless. The 1980s movie starred Sam Jones and had a killer soundtrack from Queen.

A remake has been in the works at various studios for years, but this is the first solid indication that work will be moving ahead on actually making it happen for a very long time.

Exactly how they’ll adapt the character of Flash Gordon and his story remains to be seen!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter