While THOR: RAGNAROK helmer Taika Waititi is busy putting the finishing touches on his upcoming war comedy JOJO RABBIT for Walt Disney Studios, Deadline has learned that the in-demand filmmaker is being eyed for Fox/Disney's animated FLASH GORDON feature. According to the outlet, the newly-merged studio is hoping to land Waititi as the writer and director of the FLASH GORDON project, though it's a bit early in the game to know what role(s) he'll play for the animated adventure.
It was 1934 when Flash Gordon first arrived courtesy of a science-fiction comic strip created by and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. Introduced as a competitor to Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon was sent to Earth via rocket ship to prevent that planet's collision with the planet Mongo. Lording over Mongo is a vicious tyrant, Ming the Merciless, who in the comics looks to thwart Flash's every attempt at completing his mission to keep Earth intact. In 1980, director Mike Hodges helmed FLASH GORDON, a sci-fi action adventure that saw a football player and his friends traveling to the planet Mongo only to find themselves fighting the lunacy of Ming the Merciless to save Earth. The classic film starred Sam Jones and Max Von Sydow and featured a timeless theme song created by Freddie Mercury and Queen. According to Deadline, the new FLASH GORDON will pull its inspiration from Raymond's original comic strip.
As I'd mentioned earlier, Waititi's next feature film is JOJO RABBIT, which tells the tale of a young boy in Hitler's army who finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Written by Waititi and based off the novel "Caging Skies" by author Christine Leunens, the film stars Waititi as Adolf Hitler, newcomer Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo Betzler, Thomasin McKenzie (LEAVE NO TRACE, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO) as Elsa Korr, Sam Rockwell as Captain Kelnzendorf (MOON, SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS), Scarlett Johansson (LUCY, AVENGERS: ENDGAME) as Rosie Betzler, and Rebel Wilson (PITCH PERFECT series, ISN'T IT ROMANTIC) as Fraulein Rahm, amongst others.
Well, it's nice to finally have some movement on this FLASH GORDON project, isn't it? I feel like this endeavor has been waiting in the wings for a millennia, and who better than Waititi to help bring the outrageous antics of Flash to the big screen? While there's a part of me that wishes this were a live-action effort, I am quite confident that Waititi will give Gordon's return his all, especially after watching THOR: RAGNAROK, a superhero fantasy film that was just as colorful as it was action-packed. My fingers are officially crossed.