# "Flash Gordon" (1980)-Was A Sequele Planned? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938 "2011-01-17T13:54:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/1 "2011-01-17T13:54:21Z")
At the end of this rather campy version of Flash Gordon, when Emperor Ming dies 9after being impaled by the (phallic) nose of flash’s spaceship, the magic ring drops from Ming’s finger…and it glows red. I took this to mean that Ming would be back (he sorta fades out). Did they plan a sequel? How come it never happened? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/2 "2011-01-17T14:00:23Z")
I’m going to guess that the film did not make enough money to have a sequel green-lighted. Aside from the fact that it sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/3 "2011-01-17T14:28:59Z")
Let’s start a list of movies with obvious sequel-intending endings that never came to pass! I nominate [_Highway to Hell_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_to_Hell_(film)), a little known 1992 romp that ends with the Devil looking calm, maybe a bit pensive, while a song with the lyric “Maybe the Next Time” plays. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/4 "2011-01-17T14:29:50Z")
Even without looking I’m going to guess “no” - the cliffhanger ending (such as it was) was a nod to the serial nature of the original Flash Gordon cinematic adventures. They always wanted you to come back for the next installment. Which is not to say that they wouldn’t have done a sequel had the film been a runaway success, but that’s Hollywood for you. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/5 "2011-01-17T14:30:13Z")
I’m still hopeful for Leonard Parts 1 through 5 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/6 "2011-01-17T14:32:24Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I’m still hopeful for Leonard Parts 1 through 5 And **Buckaroo Banzai vs The World Crime League**. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/7 "2011-01-17T14:34:22Z")
The world is still waiting for _Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League…_ and probably always will be. ETA: missed it by thaaaaat much. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/8 "2011-01-17T14:44:19Z")
And there’s always the _Tales of the Ancient Kingdom_ that was supposed to follow _The Sword and the Sorceror._ I loved that movie, saw it half a dozen times in the theater, as I’d won a year-long movie pass. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/9 "2011-01-17T15:11:35Z")
What the hell happened to _History of the World, Part 2_? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/10 "2011-01-17T15:23:31Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > What the hell happened to _History of the World, Part 2_? “It’s good to be the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet” didn’t have the same ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/11 "2011-01-17T15:55:17Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > At the end of this rather campy version of Flash Gordon, when Emperor Ming dies 9after being impaled by the (phallic) nose of flash’s spaceship, the magic ring drops from Ming’s finger..and it glows red. I took this to mean that Ming would be back (he sorta fades out). > Did they plan a sequel? How come it never happened? Okay, getting back to the OP’s question. The film was a tribute to 1930’s serials. There were four Flash Gordon serials starring Buster Crabbe. They each worked as a standalone story that you could watch without seeing the others. At the end of each of the serials Ming would apparently die, only to come back again the following year without explanation. IIRC, the movie finished with a shot of Ming’s ring, and the caption “The End,” then a hand picks up the ring and we hear a laugh, and then a question mark appears making it “The End?” It doesn’t mean they had a sequel in mind, just that they were following the pattern of the serials. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/12 "2011-01-17T15:59:55Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I’m still hopeful for Leonard Parts 1 through 5 Good God, _why_? Haven’t you suffered enough? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/13 "2011-01-17T16:27:11Z")
Wikipedia gives this: > [@wikipedia](#): > > The film did find appreciation with a few “hip” critics, notably The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael. Max von Sydow (Ming) received a good deal of praise for his performance, despite Jones (Gordon) being nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for worst lead actor (according to Empire magazine, Sam J. Jones had disagreements of some sort with director Hodges and producer De Laurentiis and departed prior to post-production, which resulted in almost all of his dialogue being dubbed by a professional voice actor whose identity is still a mystery). A sequel was proposed, but the departure of Jones effectively ended any such prospects. Another interesting thing in the wiki is the fact that _Flash Gordon_ is still in the top 100 all time box office earners in the U.K. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/14 "2011-01-17T16:31:39Z")
Melody Anderson as Dale Arden was pretty yummy at the time. And the soundtrack is fun. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/15 "2011-01-17T16:52:31Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Let’s start a list of movies with obvious sequel-intending endings that never came to pass! > > I nominate [_Highway to Hell_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_to_Hell_(film)), a little known 1992 romp that ends with the Devil looking calm, maybe a bit pensive, while a song with the lyric “Maybe the Next Time” plays. This movie is worth watching just to see Gilbert Gottfried as Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/16 "2011-01-17T16:54:15Z")
Everybody repeat after me , Go Flash Go, Go Flash Go!!! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/17 "2011-01-17T17:04:12Z")
Yeah, I don’t why this movie wasn’t well accepted at the time of it’s release. Maybe people expected the serious tone of the old serials updated with modern SFX, something more like Star Wars. But I liked it. As for planning a sequel, I’m sure the producers would have been willing if there was a better reception. You could call the ending a ‘plan’ for a sequel. In Hollywood, the best way to plan for a sequel is to get big box office. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/18 "2011-01-17T18:21:24Z")
The 1998 film of “Lost in Space” was set up so a sequel would be made. Fortunately it hasn’t. The interesting thing about the three “Flash Gordon” serials of the 1930s with Buster Crabbe is that the last one, “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe”, is the one most set up for a sequel. A rocketship crashes into a tower holding Ming the Merciless while one of the characters remarks that he can escape if he remembers the secret exit. But apparently he didn’t. I was disappointed that no sequel was made of the 1980 film because we would have seen more of the yummy Ornella Muti. Wikipedia says that on a Region 2 DVD commentary track for “Flash Gordon-Siver Anniversary” a sequel was going to be set on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/19 "2011-01-17T18:24:35Z")
The sequel was Flesh Gordon. One of the best parody movies. preview [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2eiau\_flesh-gordon-trailer\_shortfilms](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2eiau_flesh-gordon-trailer_shortfilms) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938/20 "2011-01-17T18:44:16Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Wikipedia gives this: > Another interesting thing in the wiki is the fact that _Flash Gordon_ is still in the top 100 all time box office earners in the U.K. Go figure. This movie is a riot. It’s the one I can watch over and over without losing interest because the plot doesn’t matter. Anyone looking for plot will be disappointed. It’s all flash. When Brian Blessed is hamming it up and he’s not the most over the top part of the movie, that movie has flash. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-gordon-1980-was-a-sequele-planned/567938.md?page=2)