One of my favorite 1980s films as a boy and now is 1984's
The Last Starfighter. From the powerful score, the excellent
Gunstar fighter, and the story of a gamer that is transformed into a space fighter gunner,
The Last Starfighter is a wonderful military science fiction that holds up to this very day. There have been rumors for decades of a sequel, but it has never materialized, but that seems to be about to change...maybe. Gary Whitta, the writer of
Rogue One, dumped four concept art by Matt Allsopp images on his Twitter today informing all of us that the dream of another adventure in this universe may be coming...and it looks amazing! Whitta is working with the original writer of the film, Jonathan Betuel, to reboot the 1984 film into a modern movie...which is a big concern of mine. The original is so good...why not expand it with a sequel? It seems from an interview on
io9, Gary Whitta is a big fan of the original and wants to do this passion project right. However, there are two hills to overcome: the rights to the IP, which are a mess and Seth Rogen is involved. Ugh. Either way, the images are a masterpiece and give us a peek into the world of the Star League.
Ah Last Starfighter, if anything you were cheezy 80s nostalgia of space operas.
ReplyDeleteStill, the notion of it being a Reboot rather than as a sequel (though then again Blade Runner 2049 might give legitimate doubts) and Seth Rogan has raised.... concerns.
Still, the pictures are nice and it would be interesting (if it be a sequel or a reboot, either contemporary or period piece ie 80s/90s) to see if the final product fits the potential and promise that is shown in these pictures. Who knows? It could be a reboot/sequel of how Alex Rogan recruits the next generation of Starfighters with those sit down arcade cabinets in a similar vein to After Burner, Star Wars Battle Pod, or even Starblade if anyone even remembers that one (I was more familiar with its spinoff "Galaxian³: Project Dragoon" to be honest).
It helps that the original came about at the right place, at the right time. The gaming angle to the story really helped the movie stand out from all the Star Wars clones at the time. Now thinking about it, the accusations that it was a Star Wars clone are bizarre. There isn't a lot in there to suggest that it was ripping off SW.
DeleteThe new film could happen in two ways: 1) a direct sequel to the original, still set in the 1980s, in order to bank on the current Eighties nostalgia (synthwave, Stranger Things, IT, Glow, etc.). It should immediately pick up after the events of the original and expand its universe. They could rerelease the original in the cinemas for newcomers to catch-up.
What I like about this first concept is that the possibilities are endless for an alternate timeline Earth in future sequels.
Or, 2) a direct sequel in the style of Blade Runner 2049, with the action being set 30+ years after the original. Alex is an older experienced Gunstar pilot. He and Maggie are married and living on Rylos with their children. His teenage son/daughter is training alongside other young Star League cadets, humans among them (since a now allied Earth became aware of the Kodan threat and joined the Star League).
Xur could be the antagonist in both timelines.
Can't wait to see further developments, but if Seth Rogen is heavily involved, I'm going to have to tone down the hype a little.
Beautiful art, still love the star fighter design but I would rather like see a New Last Star Fighter game.
ReplyDeleteAt least the two LS leads aren't in the nursing home yet. I don't want to see a sequel without them or the artistic oversight of Ron Cobb. He'd tell Whitta that Gunstars fly in space, not over lakes like a certain Rebel craft...
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, as much as we all like space combat, some planetside dogfighting would be good, too.
DeleteAlso, for someone who's about to turn 59 tomorrow,
Catherine Mary Stewart has aged extremely well.