The big picture

• The last Starfighter
  remains a classic due to its groundbreaking use of CGI and its narrative style that is unique in the science fiction genre.
• The legal dispute between Universal and Warner Bros has prevented a sequel despite numerous attempts to revive the intellectual property.
• Steven Spielberg and Seth Rogen were unable to secure the rights for a remake, but a possible collaboration between Jonathan R. Beutel and Gary Whitta for a sequel is pending.

40 years after its publication The last Starfighter remains both a cult classic and a unique contribution to the science fiction genre. This is partly because it is one of the first science fiction films to use computer-generated imagery that still holds up after 40 years. The rest is because The last Starfighter is more than happy to quip where other science fiction films like star Wars or Tron could zigzag and play with everything from the role of the “chosen one” to the arrival of the cavalry to save the day. Director Nick Castle and screenwriter Jonathan R. Betuel created a unique film that raises the question: Why is there no sequel?

It is actually surprising that The last Starfighter has remained a solo project, especially given that Hollywood is hungry to rework/remake/reboot every IP under the sun. In fact, there were plans for a sequel that was written by Gary Whitt (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Book of Eli). But there is also the question of a legal hurdle that affects two different studioswhich is probably the main reason The last Starfighter The sequel has not started.

The end of “The Last Starfighter” is perfect for a sequel

The last Starfighter has one of the most unique pitches for a science fiction film: When Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) beats the high score in his favorite video game, he learns that it was actually a test by an alien race to find a pilot worthy to fight against the Ko-Dan Armada and its leader Xur (Norman Snow). Alex is soon thrown into space and serves as only defense line when a saboteur destroys all but one of the ships that were supposed to fight against the Ko-Dan (hence the title). In the final Xur escapes when Alex destroys his mothershipand Alex flies back into space with his girlfriend Maggie (Catherine Mary Stewart), while his little brother Louis (Chris Hebert) starts playing the Starfighter Game that almost suggests that he will join his brother one day.

The rights to “The Last Starfighter” are split between Universal and Warner Bros.

For years, fans of The last Starfighter had wondered what was delaying a sequel, and in 2015 they got their answer in a retrospective of Jordan Zakarin on Yahoo. Zakarin revealed that while Universal Pictures distributed the film, The studio that actually produced the film was Lorimar Productions – and Lorimar was eventually acquired by Warner Bros. in 1989. While opinions differ as to who actually owns the rights to the remake, The last Starfighter or make a sequel, Whitta summed things up perfectly:

“You have this completely byzantine, impenetrable situation where nobody seems to know exactly what is going on… Whenever I was in a room in Hollywood, the conversation was, ‘Is there a way
Starfighter
?’ (Executives) will say, ‘We’ve looked into it – there’s no way to get the rights; we don’t understand it, but we can’t get them.’ There are many writers who would kill to have the opportunity to tell a new story
Starfighter
Story.”

His words proved prophetic, as other directors tried and failed to acquire the rights to The last Starfighter.

Steven Spielberg and Seth Rogen tried to make a remake of “Last Starfighter” – and failed

The last Starfighter can count Steven Spielberg And Seth Rogen among his fans, because both of them actually tried to get the rights. One might think that Spielberg, given his influence, would have no problem securing the rights. But that would be wrong, because Rogen revealed that Spielberg had failed to The last StarfighterRights in a Twitter thread from 2014. “Spielberg himself told me he couldn’t get the rights after I told him how long I had been trying,” Rogen said. There was actually a good reason for that: Beutel apparently vetoed the sale at that timeIt turned out that Beutel had his own plans for a possible sequel to The last Starfighter.

Jonathan R. Beutel and Gary Whitta have been working on “The Last Starfighters” for several years

In 2021, Whitta released a concept video for The last starfightersa planned sequel that would pick up where the original film left off, albeit with some major changes. Alex would have returned to Earth and is shown living with his wife (presumably Maggie, although this is never confirmed in the film) and two sons. When an alien assassin tries to overpower him, Alex would once again return to space. What made The last starfighters A big attraction was that Whitta worked with Beutel about the project, Beutel even described his approach to the material in an interview:

It’s not a remake, it’s the continuation of the story. What’s changed is time itself, especially because the video world and the alien world keep ticking. It’s by no means a time capsule of the 80s, we’re taking it to the next level.

But it seems The last starfighters may have hit a roadblock. Whitta gave a brief update on the project in 2022 via his now-defunct Twitter account, saying, “To be honest, there’s a good chance it never happens. But if it doesn’t, it won’t be for a lack of commitment from Jon and I.”

The author of “Ready Player One” has written a novel that is a spiritual sequel to “The Last Starfighter”

Even if The last Starfighter receives no official sequel, there is a spiritual one in the form of the novel armada. Written by Ernest Cline, who also wrote Ready Player One, armada It centers on teenager Zack Lightman, who discovers that the video game he loves is actually a test to find worthy pilots who can defend Earth from an alien invasion. This is essentially the plot of The last Starfighterand Cline even mentions the film by name in his novel. armada was not as well received as Ready Player One, a film adaptation is currently in development with Daniel Mazeau write the script. Ironically, armada has landed at Universal – one of the studios behind The last StarfighterEven if it never gets an actual sequel, The last Starfighter has obviously influenced a whole generation of writers to pick up where the story left off.

The last Starfighter can be rented from Amazon in the USA

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