The Australian filmmaker reportedly impressed Fox with his pitch and subsequently landed the directing gig.
- Oct 31, 2018
AceShowbiz - The long-gestating "Flash Gordon" movie has found a helmer. Australian filmmaker Julius Avery has been hired to direct a new feature film adaptation of the King Features comic strip for 20th Century Fox.
According to Deadline which first reported the news, Avery who grew up in Australia has been a fan of the Flash Gordon comic. He pitched his take to the studio and the studio loved it.
Back in 2015, "Kick-Ass" and "Kingsman" director Matthew Vaughn was rumored to be in talks to helm the new "Flash Gordon" movie, but he is now still attached as producer along with John Davis and Hearst Entertainment & Syndication Group. Fox senior vice president Matt Reilly is overseeing the project for the studio, with C.J. Kettler overseeing for Hearst.
"Flash Gordon" was created by Alex Raymond and debuted in 1934 as a science-fiction comic strip. It follows a young college athlete who journeys into space, encounters a strange cast of allies and enemies, and goes about saving the Earth on a regular basis. The story has spawned movies, last seen in a 1980 flick starring Sam Jones, and TV series with the latest adaptations running on Sci-Fi Channel from 2007 to 2008.
Avery made his feature-film directorial debut with 2014's "Son of a Gun" starring Alicia Vikander and Ewan McGregor. He directed "Overlord" for Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot. The film, which premiered at Fantastic Fest, has received strong reviews from critics with a 93% "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The World War II drama thriller revolves around American paratroopers who are dropped behind enemy lines the day before D-Day to carry out a mission crucial to the invasion's success and discover secret Nazi experiments. They find themselves fighting against supernatural forces in this Nazi-occupied village. It is slated to arrive in U.S. theaters on November 9.
