20th Century Fox is going back to the drawing board onaFlash Gordonreboot. Again. The studio has been trying to get a new feature film adaptation of the 1934 comic strip off the ground for years, and now Deadline reports thatThor: RagnarokhelmerTaika Waititihas been hired to take a stab at aFlash Gordonanimated movie. Deadline says he’s writing and directing the new adaptation, but Waititi’s team tells the outlet it’s too early to gauge exactly what his role will be. But what’s clear is he’s being hired by Disney-Fox to envision a way forward for the IP as an animated feature.
After impressing with smaller scale features likeBoyandHunt for the Wilderpeople, Waititi successfully rebooted Marvel’sThorfranchise with the 2017 sequel to stellar results. He’s subsequently been in heavy demand, although he’s currently set to next direct Warner Bros.’ long-gestating adaptation ofAkiraafter finishing his WWII-set satireJojo Rabbit, which hits theaters this fall. He had been working on a stop-motion animation project calledBubblesat Netflix, aboutMichael Jackson’s titular chimp, but he backed out of the project for “scheduling” reasons as the film came under fire in the wake of HBO’sLeaving Neverland, which brought troubling allegations against Jackson back to the forefront. Netflix has subsequently dropped the project altogether and its future is unclear.
As forFlash Gordon, the fantastical sci-fi serial was adapted into a film in 1980 which subsequently gained a cult following, and Fox has been attempting to get a new version off the ground.KingsmanhelmerMatthew Vaughnsigned on to direct in 2015, but he subsequently explained thatGuardians of the Galaxy“kind of stole”what he had planned to do, and he eventually fell off the film. Most recently Fox hiredOverlordhelmerJulius Averyto direct the reboot in October of last year, but now under Disney’s control it appears the idea is to reconfigure the project as an animated film.
Curiously enough, when Collider’s own Steve Weintraub spoke with Waititi on theThor: Ragnarokjunket,he revealedthat he made all of his department heads watchFlash Gordonin preparation for making that film. So one imagines he has a deep appreciation for that take on the character. As Collider’s Dave Trumbore recently surmised, if anyone can makeFlash Gordonwork in today’s landscape, it’s Taika Waititi.
