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Gordon's Alive? Vaughan in talks to do "Flash Gordon"
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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/matthew-vaughn-talks-direct-flash-788921
I loved "X-Men: First Class", so this might be promising.
I hope they have Prince Thun the Lion Man in this version- if GotG can do a talking raccoon, a talking Panthera leo is possible.
Also, I've just started reading the acclaimed "Flash Gordon" series by
Jeff Parker, Evan Shaner And Jordie Bellaire, and it's great. If they successful
adapted that comic to the screen, I think Vaughan could have a fine film
on his hands. :cool:
I loved "X-Men: First Class", so this might be promising.
I hope they have Prince Thun the Lion Man in this version- if GotG can do a talking raccoon, a talking Panthera leo is possible.
Also, I've just started reading the acclaimed "Flash Gordon" series by
Jeff Parker, Evan Shaner And Jordie Bellaire, and it's great. If they successful
adapted that comic to the screen, I think Vaughan could have a fine film
on his hands. :cool:
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But the original comic story is superb-it inspired George Lucas, Federico Fellini,
Jack Kirby and many others with a huge influence on popular culture. And while
I like the campy 1980 film, I believe it would be the wrong direction for the modern version- a new "Flash Gordon" should be more "Sam Raimi's Spiderman" and less
"Lorenzo Semple Jr's Batman".
If I may be permitted to be self-indulgent ;-)- I'm a life-long Flash Gordon fan, and I have mentally cast a series of FG flicks based on the original Alex Raymond characters:
The Goodies
Charlie Hunnam as Flash Gordon
Alison Brie as Dale Arden
Michael Stuhlbarg as Dr. Hans Zarkov
Karen GIllian as Princess Aura
Luke Evans as Prince Barin of Arboria
Idris Elda as King Thun of the Lion Men
Brendan Gleeson as Prince Vultan of the Hawk Men
Katheryn Winnick as Queen Fria of Frigia
Naoko Mori as Queen Undina of Coralia
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Queen Desira of Tropica
Saïd Taghmaoui as Gundar, the Desert Hawk
Ray Winstone as Ergon, Chief of the Power Men
The Baddies:
Charles Dance as Ming the Merciless
Vinnie Jones as King Kala of the Shark Men
Lotte Verbeek as Azura the Witch Queen
Peter Dinklage as King Orax of the Fire People
Michael Chiklis as Brazor of Tropica
I think Giancarlo Esposito would make a good Ming based on his work in Breaking Bad.
Strong was the villain Matai Shang in "John Carter"-not sure if he wants to play
another alien supervillain named after an East Asian dynasty...
They could do a Marvel with this and do a shared universe with The Phantom, Mandrake / Lothar and leading up to a Defenders of the Earth movie.
That would be pretty sweet. There's a fan made trailer that's been doing the rounds on youtube for a while.
Another, in Green Lantern as Sinestro.
I believe there are copyright problems with DOTE (it was a joint King Features Syndicate/Marvel production) so we won't see a movie. But Flash has teamed
up with other KFS characters outside "Defenders", so if the Vaughn FG is success, a movie cross-over might be possible in the sequel.
As long as it's with a decent KFS character (imagine Flash meeting the
Family Circus Kids or Barney Google
Lemme guess. Ming wants to open an antiques shop in Cheltenham?
There are a few tweaks I believe the Flash Gordon story needs for the modern audience:
1) While Dale hasn't been a helpless damsel since the 1980s comic strips, that's still
the popular image of her. Make her film version a sexy action heroine like
Peggy Carter, Black Widow or Gamora. Or just a strong woman in general,
like Maggie Gyllenhaal's Rachel Dawes or Amy Adams' Lois Lane (one of the few things I liked about "Man of Steel").
2) Ming shouldn't look like a 1930s "Yellow Peril" stereotype (especially with
China and Japan being important markets for modern Hollywood ;-) )
Make him a scary Caucasian dictator with a moustache. I always thought a good modern take on Ming would be make him resemble a futuristic version of a 1930s dictator- imagine him looking like a Mussolini, Hitler, Franco or Stalin figure with rayguns and rocket ships.
3) The heroes land on Mongo-and its inhabitants all speak English? Ok,
that might pass muster in 1936, but not now. Have Zarkov give Flash and Dale
little hearing-aid sizes "universal translator" devices.
https://uk.yahoo.com/movies/matthew-vaughn-confirms-kick-ass-prequel-and-121756128476.html
He says he wants to make two more "Kick-Ass" films and the "Kingsman" sequel,
and says "maybe" about doing a "sci-fi". So I reckon this means any Vaughn
"Flash Gordon" flick has been put on the long finger.
very enthusiastic about the idea of a "Kick-Ass" prequel.
Maybe we can coax Nicolas Roeg out of retirement to finally do his FG flick?
Granted, Debbie Harry's too old to play Princess Aura nowadays, but maybe we could go
with (say) Paloma Faith instead.
Surprised he wants to make more Kick Ass films, neither one actually made much money whereas Kingsman is easily the biggest hit of his career.
Vaughn has a history of expressing interest in film projects only to move away
from them-he was going to direct Marvel's "Thor" at one point, and also
passed on "X-Men: Days of Future Past". I'm not surprised he's doing
the "Kingsman" sequel, but I'm not sure why he also seems more
interested in revisiting "Kick-Ass" than doing a new film.
I think since Twentieth Century Fox don't have the rights to co-produce new
"Star Wars" films anymore, they are interested in a new space opera
franchise-and "Flash Gordon" would fit the bill nicely. But for the moment, the
nearest we'll get to seeing a new FG flick will probably be "Ted 2"....
Hah! Love it! "Throw him into the pit of eyes!" :-)
In the meantime, FG fans might enjoy this: an entertaining fan film by
Disney Animator Rob Pratt, entitled "Flash Gordon Classic";
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BChNOWus2-8
It's quite good. :cool: I think KFS and Fox should consider letting Rob make a full-blown
Flash Gordon animated series (it could be a cross between "Clone Wars" and the
old Filmation series).
Nothing against Colonel Dare, but the character isn't well known outside
Europe. I suspect any Dan Dare feature film would have to be produced in
Britain.
As for the other member of the "Big Three" comic-strip astronauts, Buck Rogers...I believe the BR comic strip wasn't widely syndicated outside North America. So most people know about Buck either through the Glen A. Larson TV show (which I HATE >:( ) or the old 1930s serial.
By contrast, the Flash Gordon comic strip was syndicated to numerous countries,
including most of Europe, Australasia, Latin America, Turkey and India. Not
to mention the worldwide success of the 1930s serials and the (later)
international cult success of the 1980 film. Flash Gordon is far better known worldwide than either Dan Dare or Buck Rogers, and hence he's the most likely of them to
get a Hollywood remake.
Then again, would the fun, peppy tone of Guardians of the Galaxy be suitable for Flash? You can't get too serious with the likes of Emperor Ming of Mongo to contend with.
There's a point- does the baddie in any Flash Gordon movie have to be Ming?
There's quite a few villains in the comic strips to choose from. And when
George Lucas was thinking about doing a FG movie in the 70s, one of his
ideas was leaving Ming out of it in favour of a different antagonist.
Not every Batman film has him pitted against the Joker, nor does every Star Trek film
have Kirk & co. facing off against Khan Noonien Singh.
Got to be Brian Blessed...he is Vultan...he has the Royal Seal of Approval!
https://thejohnfleming.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/gordons-alive-brian-blessed-from-doctor-who-to-flash-gordon-to-taking-a-real-life-rocket-into-space/
The reason George Lucas made Star Wars is that he could not get the rights to make a Flash Gordon film.
What a marvellous picture that paints.