The Last Starfighter Sequel Gets Terrible Update
Gary Whitta - the Rogue One writer who has been developing a sequel to 1984's The Last Starfighter - says there's a good chance the project is dead.
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Some iteration of The Last Starfighter sequel has been in development since at least 2005, but if you think that means it’s close to fruition, think again. Acclaimed Star Wars writer Gary Whitta has thrown cold water on fans’ hopes for a follow up to the science fiction cult classic. Responding to a fan question about the sequel on Twitter, Whitta wrote, “To be honest there’s a decent chance it never happens. But if it doesn’t, it won’t be for the lack of effort on my and Jon’s part.”
The Jon that Whitta mentioned is Jon Betuel, who wrote the screenplay for The Last Starfighter and has been attached to the sequel, as ComicBook.com reports, ever since the original director Nick Castle was hoping to helm a follow up himself. Castle said that in 2005 he hoped to get the stars from the first movie–Lance Guest and Catherine Stewart–to reprise their roles, now as parents, but sadly the project never got off the ground. Whitta, who is best known as the writer of 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is the most recent director hoping to take the project on.
The Last Starfighter may not be the biggest sci-fi franchise out there, but it’s still at least a little surprising to see Whitta speaking so dismally about the potential sequel’s chances of being made. Last year, Whitta was singing a much different song, saying on Twitch (via Space.com) “We’re very, very close. We’re basically on the one yard line and I believe it will happen.”
Since Whitta did not expand on Twitter about what stopped The Last Starfighter sequel on the proverbial “one yard line,” there’s no way to know for sure what happened. One would think that in the current age of seemingly nonstop revivals–not to mention the popularity of eighties nostalgia seeming to still be worth a lot–a follow-up to The Last Starfighter would be a relatively easy sell. ComicBook.com says there were rights issues preventing a sequel years ago, but those have since been resolved.
One possibility is that The Last Starfighter sequel ran afoul the trend of certain film studios turning away from big budget projects without household name intellectual properties attached. If, for example, Whitta and Beutel had been courting Netflix on their downward trend or Warner Bros. Discovery during their recent chaotic shake-ups, they’d likely find themselves without a home for the revival. But that’s complete speculation, and the truth could be much different.
Decades before The Last Starfighter‘s sequel was in development, the original film hit theaters to modest box office returns. After conquering the video game Starfighter, the young Alex (Lance Guest) discovers the game is merely a test, and he is soon recruited into service in an actual interstellar war against the Ko-Dan Empire. Critics didn’t completely love or hate the movie, but it is often pointed to as one of the first films to use CGI in its special effects.
Star Trek fans should take note that The Last Starfighter features two brief appearances by Trek mainstays Wil Wheaton (of The Next Generation fame) and Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat of Deep Space Nine).
