While the 1980 space opera Flash Gordon has largely faded from pop culture in the past few decades, it was a huge success in the UK upon release and remains a cult classic, with a huge fan following that goes all the way to the very top, as UK actor Brian Blessed, who played the role of Prince Vultan in the movie learned during a meeting with the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, and subsequently revealed to Yahoo.

"The Queen, it's her favorite film, she watches it with her grandchildren every Christmas."

While Blessed was not the main lead in Flash Gordon, his participation in the movie did allow him to count the actual Queen of his country and her descendants among his fans, to the extent that he was even asked by her majesty to say his iconic catchphrase from the movie for their benefit.

"[She said] 'you know, we watch Flash Gordon all the time, me and the grandchildren. And if you don't mind, I've got the grandchildren here, would you mind saying 'Gordon's alive'?"

While Queen Elizabeth II's public appearances are dictated by a long list of rules, her association with the world of entertainment has been long and varied. Most famously and unexpectedly, the Queen starred in Happy and Glorious a short film featuring Queen Elizabeth II alongside Daniel Craig as James Bond that was shown as part of the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony.

The prospect of having the Queen asked for a personal performance is thrilling enough, but the catchphrase "Gordon's alive?" has become the most popular part of Blessed's legacy as Prince Vultan, as the actor revealed it was the one thing he gets asked to say more than any other by fans.

"Everywhere I go, they all want me to say 'Gordon's alive!'. The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, horses and queens, and Prime Ministers, they all want me to say 'Gordon's alive!', it's their favorite film."

While the live-action Flash Gordon failed at the box-office upon release and was savaged by most critics, later viewings have allowed the movie to show up more favorably as a unique product of its times, and one that involved a level of artistry that did not get the credit it deserves at the time.

Nowadays, many artists, from filmmaker Edgar Wright to comic book artist Alex Ross have cited the movie as a major influence on their work. Taika Waititi's MCU blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok also features heavy influences from Flash Gordon, so much so that the filmmaker has been brought on board to write and direct an animated movie based on Gordon for Disney.

It is clear that the legacy of Flash Gordon, while having receded into the background lately, is far from forgotten. And considering Disney's expertise in reinventing old franchises for modern audiences, we will in all probability be getting a new live-action Flash Gordon movie in the next few years, one that will hopefully perform better at the box-office and with critics. This news originated at Yahoo.com.