Legendary Pictures is developing a new Buck Rogers film, with plans to expand into a full-fledged franchise.
According to THR, Legendary secured the rights to the character, and the movie will be produced by Angry Films' Don Murphy and Susan Montford. From there, the team plans to branch the property out into a television and anime series.
Created by Philip Francis Nowlan, Anthony "Buck" Rogers is a sci-fi/space opera character that debuted in the 1928 novella Armageddon 2419 A.D., which was published in Amazing Stories magazine. This quickly led to a comic strip, radio and film serials, a TV series and more.
Notably, Buck Rogers is one of the earliest examples of bringing space exploration to pop culture. The character's popularity in comic strip form also paved the way for syndications featuring such mainstays as Flash Gordon and John Carter of Mars.
In 2008, it was announced that Frank Miller would write and direct a Buck Rogers film, but those plans fell through following the failure of The Spirit. Then, in 2015, the aforementioned Don Murphy's name became attached to the property, but his plans similarly fell through, this time due to a conflict with the franchise rights holder the Dille Family Trust.
Source:Â THR