After starring in the High School Musical trilogy, Zac Efron has struggled to carve out his niche as an actor in Hollywood. Now rumours are swirling that he may be close to signing on to star in a remake of the classic sci-fi fantasy Flash Gordon.

Word on the street had been that Efron was heavily favoured to take over the role of Spider-Man in Sony’s planned re-launch of their smash-hit super-hero series. But according to DigitalSpy.com, Efron may be changing gears.

“Zac is one of the frontrunners to play Flash and he’s making no secret of the fact that he would love the role,” the website quotes an insider as saying. “Spider-Man has been done and he doesn’t want to follow someone like Tobey Maguire. Flash would be all Zac and a chance for him to make a mark with his own franchise.”

There have also been reports that Efron was in line to play Johnny Quest alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a film version of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Details on that particular project remain sketchy at best.

Flash Gordon began life as a newspaper comic strip back in 1934 created by Alex Raymond. Films, cartoons and TV series followed. The most famous adaptation was a campy film from 1980 starring Playgirl centerfold Sam J. Jones and featuring an awesome soundtrack by Queen.

(Photo by PR Photos)

Story provided by the Dish Information Corporation