UPDATE: VAN HELSING's Sommers is going to FLASH

Director/writer now attached to new FLASH GORDON film

By Patrick Sauriol     April 22, 2004
Source: Anonymous from Planet Mongo

A source has confirmed that VAN HELSING director Stephen Sommers is presently attached to produce a new FLASH GORDON movie. Our information matches up with what IGN FilmForce broke first last week, that Sommers is now involved with the Universal Pictures remake of the pulp sci-fi hero.

Both FilmForce and our own scooper have told us that, for now, Sommers is attached as just a producer for FLASH GORDON. Inside word is that the gentleman is waiting to see how his new movie, VAN HELSING, fares at the box office come May. If VAN HELSING proves to be a monster-sized hit, Sommers may have to pass on writing and directing FLASH in favor of VAN HELSING 2.

On April 20 we believed that we were the first to report the involvement of writer/producer Ronald Shusett (co-writer of ALIEN, screenwriter/producer on TOTAL RECALL and an executive producer for MINORITY REPORT) as a potential writer for the FLASH GORDON film project. Our source informed us that Shusett has been approached to pen the script for FLASH GORDON should Sommers pass on the job and a deal can be reached. As it turned out, IGN FilmForce sneaked in first and and broke the Shusett story in an article published last week on the site. FilmForce has been leading the pack with news of the new FLASH GORDON film and deserves the recognition for breaking this scoop first, and we credit them as such.

[Our thanks to an anonymous hawkman from the planet Mongo for the first FTL message and then to Stax @ FilmForce for alerting us to their story.]


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