'Flash Gordon' Animated Movie Being Developed By Taika Waititi For Disney

The increasingly busy Taika Waititi just added another project to his list. The Thor: Ragnarok filmmaker is developing a Flash Gordon animated movie for Fox/Disney, and there's a good chance he might end up writing and directing the feature as well. The film will adapt the science fiction character who began life in a 1930s comic strip.

Deadline is reporting that Taika Waititi is doing...something with a Flash Gordon animated movie for Fox and Disney. Here's where things get vague: the report states that the filmmaker is on board to "crack" the project, which means he's developing it in some capacity. But just how involved Waititi will end up being remains to be seen. There's a chance he'll write and direct the film, but Waititi's "camp indicates it's too early to gauge exactly what his role would be."

In other words, it's still too early to tell what's going to happen, but now the news is out there. In any case, Waititi's involvement with this project – no matter how major or minor – is going to grab attention, and rightfully so. The director and actor has risen from indie darling to full-blown blockbuster filmmaker. Thor: Ragnarok helped spread his name to an even wider audience, and his upcoming dark comedy Jojo Rabbit is already garnering potential awards season buzz thanks to its fall release date. Waititi is also set to direct the live-action version of Akira. I'm not sure how he's going to be able to fit both that and this Flash Gordon film into his schedule, but I'll let him worry about that.

Originating in a 1934 comic strip, Flash Gordon is described as "An All-American athlete who was kidnapped from Earth and thrust into the middle of a raging war on the distant Planet Mongo. Caught between the forces of Prince Barin, the rightful ruler of Mongo, and Ming the Merciless, self-proclaimed emperor of the universe, this ordinary man became a hero by displaying extraordinary courage. Under Flash's leadership, the oppressed people of Mongo were finally able to rise up and escape Ming's long reign of terror."

This animated take won't be the first big screen adventure for the character. In 1980, a live-action Flash Gordon movie from director Mike Hodges hit theaters, featuring a soundtrack by Queen. A potential film reboot has been knocking around since at least 2015, with Kingsman filmmaker Matthew Vaughn named as a possible director. Last year, Overlord's Julius Avery was mentioned as a potential director as well.