Geekery: ‘Flash Gordon’ is Returning to the Big Screen
Fox promises a new adventure with Flash, Dale Arden, Dr. Hans Zarkov on Mongo – and hopefully a fantastic soundtrack and fabulous costumes.
Flash Gordon was created to compete with Buck Rogers in the mid 1930s. It’s a space opera with evil sorcerers, kings and queens, intergalactic battles, and plenty of adventure. It’s been translated into stage and radio plays, live action and animated TV shows. It was also made into a gloriously campy movie in the early 1980s with a soundtrack by Queen.
I’m not sure if any re-boot could really match the vision of Mike Hodges that created a cult classic. The costumes, the sets… the music! It’s this great package of cult film that knows exactly what it is.
A reboot has been in the works for about 3 years. It’s been confirmed by Deadine that director Julius Avery has been hired by Fox to write and direct a new adaptation of the comic books. Looking at his filmography – which includes Overlord and Son of a Gun – Avery isn’t the most obvious choice for a campy, bright colored franchise like Flash Gordon. He’s apparently been a fan since he was a child, and was the one that pitched the movie to the studio. I just hope this doesn’t result in dark, gritty, and gory version.
No timeline has been released on the project. I don’t think anything can really be finalized on that front till the [totally horrible] Disney/Fox merger is figured out.
Also: if they don’t hire The Darkness to do the soundtrack they will have failed miserably.
