It’s been 40 years since the space hero Buck Rogers last graced audiences’ screens and now Legendary Entertainment is entering final negotiations to acquire the screen rights to the Phillip Francis Nowlan character for a big-screen adaptation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Sources report that Legendary is looking to develop the Buck Rogers property into a big-screen franchise that will expand into a “prestige television series, as well as an anime series” to help expand the world of the 25th century for audiences.
The wheels for a new adaptation began turning in 2008 when Frank Miller was set to write and direct a film, though it was cancelled after the critical and commercial failure of his adaptation of The Spirit.
John F. Dille Co. eventually brought the character to the comics world with the strip Buck Rogers in 1929, which launched him to best-selling popularity and saw him expand to toys, radio plays, comic books, a Buster Crabbe-starring movie serial and the cult favorite 1979 NBC TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century starring Gil Gerard in the titular role.