It’s a throwback to old school serial adventure movies, but it still feels fresh and modern today. According to The Hollywood Reporter, there is a sequel/reboot on the way. The Rocketeers will be one of those sequels that also acts as a reboot, offering a clean jumping-on point for people who aren’t familiar with the original movie.
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The original film, set in the 1930s, is about a stunt pilot named Cliff Secord who stumbles upon a powerful jet pack, and must protect it when villains try to steal it and use it for evil. He straps on the the new gadget, makes himself a terrific costume and goes about saving lives and such. We don’t yet know who’ll director even star, since the project is still in the early development stages; getting Joe Johnston back to direct might not be a bad idea, since it might help head off the Ghostbusters-type backlash that often greets a remake or reboot such as this.
The original film was set in 1938 and starred Billy Campbell as stunt pilot Cliff Secord who finds a rocket powered jet pack and gets wrapped up in an adventure with Nazi operatives, mobsters, Howard Hughes and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Instead, a female African-American pilot takes up the mantle of The Rocketeer in order to stop a corrupt rocket scientist from turning the tide of the Cold War.
Shades of the new Iron Man, anyone? Some jerks on the internet will call it pandering. The big news, however, is that The Rocketeers will be led by a black female character. It’s a solid way of not trying to “replace” Campbell’s original character, and I appreciate the fact that it’ll continue the story where Johnston’s film left off.
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The script will be penned by Max Winkler (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Matt Spicer (Flower), while Brigham Taylor (The Jungle Book) will produce.
