BUCK ROGERS And POPEYE Are Suiting Up For A Date With 3D!
Jim here. Two more classic characters are getting the stereoscopic 3D treatment: BUCK ROGERS and POPEYE.
Sony is going to bring a CGI version of POPEYE to 3D screens and is being buoyed by none other than super Producer Ari Arad (SPIDER-MAN). Mike Jones may write pending negotiations.
From Variety: Arad says that the new version will cover the themes of friendship, love, greed and life, and focus on human strengths and frailties. The main characters WILL be involved, namely Bluto, Olive Oyl and Swee'Pea.
**AND**
Paul W.S. Anderson (RESIDENT EVIL) is directing a live action version of BUCK ROGERS (via Variety) from a script written by IRON MAN scribes Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. It has not been confirmed that the movie will definitely be in 3D, but the odds are great that it will. The producing company is Paradox Entertainment who is currently doing CONAN in S3D.
Paradox has said that BUCK ROGERS is their highest priority after wrapping CONAN.
Want another little tidbit of something that could be heading our way in 3D? How about a reimagining of HIGHLANDER. Marcum/Holloway are writing that too. Makes for an interesting thought anyway! I am digging into this as we speak.
I am thrilled about the potential for the BUCK ROGERS property. For those unaware of BUCK ROGER's exploits, (from the 1979-81 NBC TV show) he is a United States Air Force pilot who commands Ranger 3, a space shuttle-like ship that is launched in 1987. Because of a freak combination of gases, he is frozen in space for 504 years and is revived in the 25th century. There, he learns that the Earth was united following a devastating nuclear war on November 22, 1987, and is now under the protection of the Earth Defense Forces, headquartered in New Chicago. The latest threat to Earth comes from the spaceborne armies of the planet Draconia, which is planning an invasion.
I assume the character will be updated to a modern version but the gist will most likely be the same. Plenty of potential. More when I get it!
