That’s a good question! Would he have kept it in a 1930’s/40’s milieu like the Filmation animated version did?

I guess we would need to find an interview where GL comments on the production design of the Flash Gordon serials or the ‘look’ of the comics. Lucas was/is a serious fan of comic art.

The Flash Gordon style clashes with the lived-in universe of Star Wars. I’m not sure a lived-in version of Flash would have been well received. Wisely the 1980 film is not at all realistic.

Strangely though, Lucas argued with cinematographer Gil Taylor over the use of diffusion in Star Wars. You can see it used in the Tatooine scenes but everything else is sharp. I can’t work out why Lucas wanted to use diffusion when the production design centred on realism. The prequel films all have a slightly diffused look. Maybe he was borrowing from Geoffrey Unsworth, the original choice for cinematographer on Star Wars. He was known for putting stockings on lenses - the best use of this being the opening sequence of 2001 where it looks spectacular.