‘The Rocketeer’ Sequel/Reboot Movie In The Works For Disney+
Disney has apparently started working on a part-sequel/part-reboot movie of the beloved 1991 film ‘The Rocketeer’ for Disney+ it has been revealed.
For those of you who don’t know the original property, ‘The Rocketeer’ was a film directed by Joe Johnston, adapted from the Dave Stevens graphic novel, and saw stunt pilot Cliff Secord (played by Billy Campbell) find a rocket-powered jet pack at their airfield, which had been stashed by a group of Nazi operatives who had stolen it from Howard Hughes (Terry O’Quinn) after their robbery had gone wrong. When Cliff begins to use the jetpack to make some heroic rescues, “The Rocketeer” becomes a media sensation but also draws the attention of Hughes, the Nazis, and the FBI who are all hunting for the stolen tech.
The new film, which is titled ‘The Return of the Rocketeer’, comes from David and Jessica Oyelowo via their company Yoruba Saxon, with a script by Ed Ricourt. Rather than a straight reboot, this new version would see a retired US WWII Tuskegee Airmen discover the jetpack, and take up the mantle of the famed flying hero.
The film is being eyed with a view to the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated David Oyelowo to take the leading role. Oyelowo has starred in a host of tv and film projects including ‘Selma’ as Martin Luther King Jr. which landed him a Golden Globe nod, ‘Nightingale’ which saw him nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy, and ‘The Butler’, which landed him a SAG nomination. He’s also appeared in the films ‘Jack Reacher’, ‘Lincoln’, and ‘Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway’, along with tv shows such as ‘Les Misérables’, and ‘The Good Wife’. You may also recognise his voice as Agent Kallus in ‘Star Wars: Rebels’.
Ed Ricourt was the screenwriter behind film projects such as ‘Now You See Me’ and ‘Now You See Me 2’, and worked on the tv drama ‘Wayward Pines’. He also served as writer and consulting producer on Marvel/Netflix series ‘Jessica Jones’, and produced & wrote the superhero comic book adaptation ‘Raising Dion’ for Netflix.
David and Jessica Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon is under a “first-look” option with Disney and, should it move forward, The Return of the Rocketeer’ would be their first film under that deal. Prior film and tv projects from the company include ‘Nightingale’ for HBO, ‘Captive’ for Paramount, ‘A United Kingdom’ for Fox Searchlight, ‘Come Away’ for Relativity Media, and ‘The Water Man’ for RLJE Films/Netflix.
‘The Return of the Rocketeer’ is classed as “in development” at the moment, but we’ll let you know if it moves forward.
