FLASH! A-ah! Saviour of the universe! Right, now that is out of our collective systems, we can report that director Breck Eisner has confirmed he is developing a new Flash Gordon film – but don’t expect the blonde feathered hair or plastic looking costumes of Mike Hodges’ cheesy eighties version to make the cut. Eisner is going back to basics with his adaptation, saying that ‘Our version goes back to strips from the thrities and we will update those and shoot the movie as if the strips were drawn today. It will be an action and adventure sci-fi.’ Eisner went on to say that his Flash Gordon film will be, ‘very much a superhero origins story,’ and that, ‘the ultimate goal is to turn it into a franchise.’

Flash Gordon is just one of the remakes that Eisner is developing, with reinvisionings of The Brood and Escape From New York also in the works. What Eisner will do with his trio of remakes remains to be seen, but his remake of George A Romero’s The Crazies suggests Eisner knows how to successfully breathe new life into old material.

While Eisner’s Flash Gordon seems likely to appeal to fans of the original comic strip, we can’t help feel a little sad about one of our favourite slice of eighties cheddar being consigned to film history. Still, if the photos from the Thor film are anything to go by, the spirit of Hodges adaptation is very much alive and well.

If like us, the news of the Eisner adaptation has got you reminiscing, check out the trailer for Hodges’ version below. All together now – FLASH!