We should remember that Star Wars was the saga that wasn't supposed to happen. Lucas wanted to do Flash Gordon with the latest modern special effects, but he couldn't get the license to do so. In 1974, a pornographic spoof called "Flesh Gordon" was released, likely causing the holders of the intellectual property to be overly cautious. Lucas had to scurry for a story line, as Darth Vader was not identified as father of Luke and Leia until the second film. Like Star Wars, Flash Gordon featured a princess, a desert world, a jungle world, an ice world and a floating city complex. In many ways, he stole the thunder from any future attempts to modernize Flash Gordon. In an ATL, it is highly speculative that the OTL stories would remain intact. Lucas and Spielberg would work with the material that was on the table in the seventies, Flash Gordon included.