A new Flash Gordon movie is in the works and Matthew Vaughn, a director who certainly knows how to bring comic books to life, is in talks for the job.
The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter and later by Deadline.
Flash Gordon is being put together by 20th Century Fox, with John Davis and King Features producing. Davis got the rights to make the film from the HEarst corporation, which published the comic strips.
The character first appeared in 1934 and was created by Alex Raymond. There were several movie serials, plus the cult 1980 movie that is better known for its Queen soundtrack. Flash Gordon was also an influence on George Lucas while he wrote Star WarsThe script was written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, who are currently working on Star Trek 3. Co-producer George Nolfi wrote the first treatment.
Vaughn has carved out a niche for directing comic-based movies, after successes with Kick-Ass and Fox’s X-Men: First Class. He just directed Kingsman: The Secret Service, which became a surprising hit in February and has grossed $392 million worldwide. That movie is based on a Mark Millar-written comic book. so if anyone can direct a Flash Gordon for the modern moviegoer, it’s Vaughn.