'Flash Gordon' at 40: Brian Blessed will kill anyone who tries to remake the cult classic (exclusive)

Flash Gordon star Brian Blessed says he will personally hunt down anyone who tries to remake Mike Hodges’ 1980 sci-fi classic, and murder them.

Talking to Yahoo as the film enjoys its 40th anniversary and a flashy 4K remaster, Blessed thunders: “They must never, never ever try to make a remake! I’ll kill them!”

“They must never do it. The more you see [Flash Gordon], you see more and more in the film: the lighting, the music, the performances... it’s perfection. They mustn’t try and bring it back in a different way, a more sinister way and this that, and the other, no, no, no, no, no.”

He says the film is “the finest science fiction movie that has ever been made.”

The outspoken 83-year-old, who plays Hawkmen leader Prince Vultan, adds that he was approached to appear in a remake as a hawkman “tearing people to pieces”.

“I told them to eff off, go away,” he adds.

Inspired by Alex Raymond’s space opera adventure comic strip first published in 1934, the 1980 film is just one of many adaptations of the source material. A film reboot has been bouncing round Hollywood for a number of years with The King’s Man director Matthew Vaughn linked with a new version at 20th Century Fox.

Read more: Brian Blessed tells coronavirus to ‘bugger off’

More recently, Thor: Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi has been linked with an animated version at Disney. Let’s just hope he doesn’t incur the wrath of the mighty Blessed.

Sam J Jones, who played the title role in the 1980 film, revealed that he’d initially been signed up to make six Flash Gordon films, saying the sequel would have headed to Mars.

Watch the full video above to see Brian Blessed and Sam J Jones reunited and reminiscing over the film’s 40 year legacy.

The 4K remaster of Flash Gordon is in cinemas now, and comes to 4K UHD Collector’s edition, Blu-ray, Steelbook, DVD and digital on 10 August.

Watch a new clip below.