Disney is looking to bring The Rocketeer back the big-screen.
According to Vulture, the character will get a big-screen reboot. A film version was already made in 1991 starring Billy Campbell, Timothy Dalton and Jennifer Connelly.
While it wasn’t a huge hit at the box-office, it has since garnered a solid following thanks to home video.
No writer, director or casting news has been announced, but Vulture reports that the project is moving forward sooner rather than later.
I enjoyed Joe Johnston’s Rocketeer. I thought it had a non-ironic, non-campy innocence that was appropriate to the time period in which the film was set. I liked the reluctant hero and the way he finally grew to enjoy the pure fun of flying. I could see the same elements in his Captain America.
I suppose Disney could do it right, but I suspect it will be an okay film with a bland late-teen, early-twenties character who is a bit of a rebel, rides a motorcycle, and has a crush on a girl who doesn’t really notice him until he saves her thanks to the rocket pack. The lead character will suffer from self-doubt through the whole movie in spite of his rebel nature and finally overcome the self-doubt in the final battle with the villain. His newfound confidence allows him to defeat the villain, win the girl, and impress the crowds.
I think I have made a checklist that can be checked against the real movie when it comes out.
I thought it was pretty craptacular the first time around… so I won’t be checking for this… especially if they keep it a period piece… which I guess still makes sense…
Bad idea… It was a shame that the 1991 movie didn’t have the box office appeal it deserved, but I fear that if Disney went ahead with the reboot they would probably cast a “Justin Bieber-like” actor purely for box office appeal, and that would only diminish the product, not add to it.