Usually when a harebrained idea like remaking Flash Gordon starts to make the rounds, you can usually count on it being at least a few years down the line -- but I guess today I'm just not that lucky. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have now signed to pen the update of the classic sci-fi tale with Sahara director Breck Eisner at the helm. Eisner signed to direct last May, and with the addition of the screenwriting duo, it could mean the project just entered the fast track. Sazama and Sharpless have had a busy 2008, and were already hard at work on scripting duties for Alex Proya's Dracula Year Zero and Zack Snyder's Cobalt 60 when the Flash deal finalized.

For those of you out there not familiar with the Depression-era hero, Flash Gordon centered on a dashing polo player who is abducted and taken to the faraway planet Mongo. Along with his gal-pal *Gail and scientist Hans Zarkov, Flash lands in the middle of a battle with the dreaded Ming the Merciless (possibly one of the best villain names around). Originally, Universal was holding the rights to the title, but when the project fell through, the rights reverted to King Features Syndicate and eventually found a home at Sony.

This latest incarnation of the adventurer/polo player will mark the third time the classic comic strip has had a home on the big screen (including the original serial). Now that Hollywood is mining the comic book store at a furious pace, the third time could be a charm for Flash.

But it's going to be pretty hard to top Dino DeLaurentiis' psychedelic trip of a film back in 1980 -- don't ya think?

*Correction: Apologies to all the Flash fans out there; Flash's better half was Dale Arden.