Taika Waititi to helm animated Flash Gordon remake

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Taika Waititi is on board to write and direct a 'Flash Gordon' remake.

The 'Thor: Ragnarok' filmmaker looks set to pen the script and stand at the helm of the animated Fox/Disney project, with John Davis producing.

However, according to Deadline, his camp says it's too early to say exactly what his role on the film would be.

The original 'Flash Gordon' movie was released in 1980 and starred Sam J. Jones as the central character.

'Kingsman: The Secret Service' Matthew Vaughn was previously attached to direct the project back in 2015 but two years later he noted that a prospective film was facing increased competition from other space franchises, such as 'Star Wars' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

He explained: "You've got 'Star Wars', you've got 'Guardians', so you've got to have your own space opera, but you have to find something that can survive among these two very, very great franchises."

The 43-year-old director recently walked away from his 'Bubbles' movie, an animated film about Michael Jackson which tells the King of Pop's story through the eyes of his famous pet chimpanzee called Bubbles, due to his busy schedule which includes the release of his latest film 'Jojo Rabbit'.

Taika was set to co-direct the film with Mark Gustafson, who has since left to work with Guillermo del Toro on 'Pinocchio'.

Netflix - who acquired rights to the film at Cannes in 2017 for $20 million - have since dropped the movie as they feel it's "no longer a fit" without the 'Hunt For The Wilderpeople' director at the helm.