Producer plans Barbarella remake

The original film featured Jane Fonda as an intergalactic sex-kitten

A remake of the cult 1960s science-fiction film Barbarella is in development, according to reports.

Original producer Dino De Laurentiis has secured the rights to remake the 1968 film, which starred Jane Fonda.

De Laurentiis told trade paper Variety that Barbarella was the "ultimate science-fiction adventure heroine: smart, strong, funny and sexy".

Casino Royale writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis will pen the script. No release date has been announced.

The original film, based on Frenchman Jean-Claude Forest's comic-book creation, was a box-office flop but has since acquired cult status.

The rights deal, with Jean-Claude's son Julien, will also see the reissue of the first two Barbarella books, along with the publication of material previously unreleased in English.

Legendary Italian film-maker De Laurentiis has produced a string of Hollywood blockbusters including the 1976 remake of King Kong and, most recently, the Hannibal Lecter sequels Hannibal and Red Dragon.