Frank Miller Back With Buck Rogers

The on-again, off-again romance between Frank Miller and Buck Rogers may be back on for good. The Spirit director, who has been hinting that he'd direct a movie about comic strip and TV hero, is apparently going to announce soon that the project is officially on.

IGN caught up with The Spirit producer Deborah Del Prete at the 2008 Scream Awards, and del Prate said Miller "would be making an announcement soon" about his Buck Rogers project. IGN also notes that the budget for the movie is set at $40 million, which means the cheap special effects from the 1980s TV show may be returning for the movie version.

The Spirit itself looks a little campy, so it wouldn't surprise me if Miller went that way again for his next movie. Then again, does the character deserve the chance to move beyond his silly roots, the way Batman did? And with the tepid reception of early Spirit footage, does anyone trust Frank Miller anymore anyway?