Disney's 'Flash Gordon' Remake From Taika Waititi Will Be Live-Action

20th Century Studios has been trying to get a new “Flash Gordon” movie in development years before the merger with Disney with directors such as Matthew Vaughn (“X-Men: First Class“) and Julius Avery (“Overlord“) attached at various points to bring a fresh incarnation of the pulp sci-fi hero after multiple incarnations over the years including the beloved/campy film from 1980 that featured a score and theme song from the British rock band, Queen.

READ MORE: Taika Waititi Brought On To “Crack” An Animated ‘Flash Gordon’ Film For Fox/Disney

Last we heard, the studio pivoted to an animated version with Kiwi director Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok“) set to helm it. However, producer John Davis has given Collider a huge update on the project; it will be live-action.

READ MORE: Taika Waititi To Write & Direct Two Animated ‘Charlie & The Chocolate Factory’ Series For Netflix

“Taika is writing it. It was a movie that was a huge influence on him growing up. It is one of his favorite movies. He initially said to me, ‘Let’s do it animated.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then we got into it and started developing it, and he said, ‘No, let’s do it live-action.’ I said, ‘Even better.'”

READ MORE: ‘Star Wars’: Taika Waititi Confirmed To Direct A New Feature Co-Written By ‘1917’ Scribe

The basic gist of “Flash Gordon” is that the crack quarterback and reporter Dale Arden find their way on the crudely crafted spaceship made by Doctor Zarkov that lands on the planet Mongo, ruled by the intergalactic tyrant Ming The Merciless and is a ruthless overlord many different alien creatures/humanoids that inhabit Mongo. Ming desires to destroy Earth as Flash attempts to unite Mongo’s multiple kingdoms against the cosmic villain.

An update on Ming is needed, as the character takes a lot of cues from the racist Fu Manchu imagery based on Asian villain stereotypes. We also hope that a modern take will give the female characters a bit more to do than show skin and be rescued.

Like many serials and other sci-fi projects, “Flash Gordon” directly influenced George Lucas’s “Star Wars” franchise as Han Solo’s archetype is very similar to Flash. Waititi is the perfect director as “Thor: Ragnarok” is obviously inspired by the movie’s weirdness from 1980.

We don’t expect “Flash Gordon” to happen anytime soon as Taika is a little busy. His sports drama “Next Goal Wins” will be released soon by Searchlight Pictures (2021?); he’s currently in post on Marvel‘s “Thor: Love & Thunder” and is still attached to direct an untitled “Star Wars” movie for Lucasfilm.