Australian director Julius Avery of early November World War II horror “Overlord” has been announced as the director of a “Flash Gordon” reboot.
The picture was previously in the hands of “Kingsman” director Matthew Vaughn, who stays on as a producer.
20th Century Fox picked up “Overlord” and has likewise given “Flash Gordon” the go-ahead. According to Deadline, when Avery pitched his take on the project, the studio “sparked to it.”
The news coincides not just with the final week of publicity before “Overlord” debuts, but with the launch of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a look at the stratospheric career arc of British rock band Queen and its charismatic frontman Freddie Mercury.
The band famously soundtracked a 1980 movie adaptation of the “Flash Gordon” comic book hero, an adaptation that was referenced in both “Ted 2” (2015) and “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017).
But Avery may have chosen to stick closer to the dashing, daring space superhero’s roots.
Flash Gordon first appeared in a 1934 comic strip of the same name. In the earlier iterations, Gordon must battle Ming the Merciless, a bloodthirsty tyrant from an alien planet, and his invading armies, all without any superpowers. JB
RELATED STORIES:
Eddie Redmayne linked to Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Trial of the Chicago Seven’
Liam Neeson to star in comedy drama ‘Made in Italy’ with his son