Get ready because your great-grandfather’s superhero just might be making a comeback! Flash Gordon is getting ready for a brand new space adventure courtesy of Fox Studios. According to a new report from THR, they have found the ideal director for the property in Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class).
Flash Gordon was originally a comic strip created in 1934 by Alex Raymond, who designed the character as an answer to the hugely popular Buck Rogers. Flash Gordon went on to became a sensation as a radio show and spawned a series of film serials in the late 1930’s and 40’s, as well. However the character is most recently known for the campy Flash Gordon movie from 1980 and the movie Ted. Since that time, the movie has gone on to become a cult-classic spawning endless memories, gifs, and Seth McFarlane jokes. (Seriously, that guy has made his career off of that movie.) Flash Gordon centers on an athlete who boards a rocket and finds himself on the extraterrestrial planet, Mongo. Gordon goes on countless adventures, while battling his iconic and blatantly racist nemesis, Ming the Merciless.
This news is a surprise development and should get the attention of geeks worldwide. Here is how the project came together, according to THR.
Vaughn, basking in the success of his surprise hit Kingsman: The Secret Service, is in negotiations to direct Flash Gordon, a movie based on the classic comic strip character that is set up at Twentieth Century Fox.
The studio picked up the project almost a year ago, with John Davis and King Features producing. Davis spent more than a year acquiring the rights from the Hearst Corporation.
It’s hard to imagine a better director than Vaughn, who is more suited to blend the epic science-fiction adventure, with the pulpy and campy tone of the series. Whether it is the street-level vigilante chaos of Kick-Ass or the jazzy fun of X-Men: First Class, Vaughn’s worlds always feel believable, with its tongue firmly in cheek. In Kingsman: The Secret Service he showed that he can take the campy elements of a bygone era, 1960’s James Bond films, and re-appropriate them for modern sensibilities.
Vaughn possibly directing Flash Gordon could be bad news for fans who were holding out hope that the director would one day take a swipe at the Star Wars franchise. Star Wars creator George Lucas has openly admitted that he took a lot of his inspiration from the character and the series, when he created his own legendary space saga. Crazier things have happened, like J.J. Abrams jumping from Star Trek to Star Wars, however it seems that it would be highly unlikely for Vaughn to follow suit. He has shown an affinity for genre material, but also the need to vary his sandbox every outing. After all, he helped create X-Men: Days of Future Past before jumping ship to direct the little-known Kingsman: The Secret Service.
In any case, the prospect of Vaughn at the helm of a Flash Gordon film should get people excited. Make sure to check back for the official confirmation, as well as more casting developments on the movie.
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Source: Slashfilm