A year ago, we reported that a Flash Gordon reboot was in the works, with former Star Trek 3 scribes J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay penning the script. But instead of using the campy, beloved 1980 cult classic that starred Sam J. Jones as Flash — a football player who traveled to a distant planet called Mongo — as the basis for their movie reboot, the writers decided to use the tone of the original 1930s serial as their inspiration. Well, you can throw all of that out a space window right now, because it appears that's no longer happening.

In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Sam J. Jones updated us on that long-in-development Flash Gordon flick, revealing that the movie will now be a sequel (a bit of trivia: when Flash Gordon was released back in 1980, there were plans for a sequel, but that never materialized for various reasons), and that there are talks for him to appear in the movie:

Matthew Reilly, VP of production at Fox Studios, acquired the screenplay rights to Flash Gordon last year, and he hired [Predator/ Chronicle/ Man From U.N.C.L.E producer] John Davis and his staff to write the script. They’re looking to bring out a sequel actually. I met with Matt, we’re in talks about that. I’m very excited. A lot of people over the years, including Stephen Sommers and Neil H Moritz, have acquired the screenplay rights, but for whatever reason they did not do a follow up on the option. So I’m very excited about it.

When he was asked if he would want to play an older Flash, or a mentor to a younger actor, here’s what Jones said:

However they want to use me, I’m very excited. I told Matt, however he wants to use me, keep one thing in mind: whatever a younger, leading man can do, I cannot only match him, I can do more! If he does 20 pull-ups, I can do 30 pull-ups. If he can do 100 push-ups, I can do 150 push-ups. Just keep that in mind!

Guys, with John Davis seemingly sitting in the producer’s seat for the new Flash Gordon, it looks like it may finally be happening! The Blacklist producer is a busy one, and has quite a few sci-fi and genre flicks already on his plate this year, including Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Victor Frankenstein, starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, as well as an upcoming, undated Predator sequel. Dude means business.

Are you excited to see that the new powers-that-be now want to make the new Flash Gordon flick a sequel and not a reboot? Would you like to see Sam J. Jones have a role in the new movie? Do you think it's finally in the right hands?

(via Den of Geek)