‘Flash Gordon’ Remake

‘Flash Gordon‘ remake may happen courtesy of Columbia Pictures. They’re in talks to acquire an adaptation with Breck Eisner attached to direct. Eisner is probably best known as the director of Sahara, a mediocre adventure movie starring a half-stoned Matthew McConaughey. No writers are on board to adapt.

“Flash” was originally a science fiction newspaper comic strip drawn by Alex Raymond in the 1930s and was created to compete with another sci-fi strip, “Buck Rogers.” The strip was first adapted to the screen via Buster Crabbe serials and made into a lavish 1980 film starring Sam Jones but remembered more for its Queen score. More recently, it was a Sci Fi Channel miniseries that was seen as a critical and ratings failure.

Storywise, Flash was an athlete who travels to the planet Mongo with his lady love, Dale Arden, and the mad scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov. There, they discover a world ruled by Ming the Merciless and meet such strange inhabitants as the Hawkmen and the Sharkmen.