The Wrap reports that Legendary Entertainment has nabbed the movie rights to Buck Rogers and has partnered with Transformers producer Don Murphy via Angry Films.
The project is based on the “Armageddon 2419 A.D.” novella by Philip Francis Nowlan that introduced the Buck Rogers character in 1928. The story centers on a coal mine inspector who awakens from suspended animation after 500 years to find himself in the middle of a planetary war.
Buck Rogers has been adapted into various comic strips, a movie serial, radio and television shows. Developed by Chicago newspaperman John F. Dille in the 1930s, it immediately became one of the world’s most popular comic strips, read by millions daily in the newspapers all over the world. The strip was essentially Rip Van Winkle in the future in which a modern-day man wakes up 500 years in the future to a world that is no longer recognizable to him.
The popularity of Buck Rogers led to the creation of the more notable Flash Gordon (rights are at 20th Century Studios) and could easily be traced to the origins of Star Wars as well.
At one time, Sin City’s Frank Miller attempted to direct a feature film over ten years ago but when his film The Spirit tanked his involvement dissolved.
Legendary is behind the Monsterverse with Godzilla vs Kong set to be released next year along with Denis Villeneuve’s first installment of the Dune franchise. They have serious genre experience and could give new life to an aged property like Buck Rogers that has slipped from the consciousness of modern audiences.
Considering Legendary’s relationship with Warner Bros. there is a got shot it could land there for distribution.
SOURCE: THE WRAP
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