Taika Waititi is taking on the Flash Gordon remake. (Pictures: Getty/Rex)

Thor: Ragnarok filmmaker Taika Waititi has been signed up to write and direct the reboot of Flash Gordon, the 1980 film that became a cult hit.

Taika looks set to write the script and head up the animated Fox/Disney project, with John Davis producing.

However, according to Deadline, his camp says it’s too early to say exactly what his role on the film would be.

The reboot comes almost 40 years after the original Flash Gordon movie was released in 1980, which starred Sam J. Jones as the central character.


The film follows American football player Flash Gordon’s adventures after his plane is hit by a meteorite and crashes into the laboratory of Russian scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov, before ending up on his trocketship to the planet Mongo.



Taika isn’t the first name to be attached to the project – Kingsman: The Secret Service’s Matthew Vaughn was previously named as the director in 2015, but two years later he raised concerns that the film would face increased competition from other space movie franchises..

He explained: ‘You’ve got Star Wars, you’ve got Guardians [of the Galaxy], so you’ve got to have your own space opera, but you have to find something that can survive among these two very, very great franchises.’

Flash Gordon is getting a modern day remake – here’s hoping the ’80s hair stays the same. (Picture: Rex Features)

The original Flash Gordon movie came out in 1980. (Picture: Rex Features)

Taika was also working on the Bubbles movie – an animated film about Michael Jackson through the eyes of his famous pet monkey, but walked away from this project due to his busy schedule.

Taika was set to co-direct the film with Mark Gustafson, who has since left to work with Guillermo del Toro on Pinocchio.

Netflix – who acquired rights to the film at Cannes in 2017 for $20 million (£15.7 million) – have since dropped the Bubbles movie as they feel it’s “no longer a fit” without Taika in charge.

Whether or not you remember the original Flash Gordon movie, it’s set to be a whole new adventure this time around.

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