‘The Rocketeer’ Is Finally Getting a Sequel on Disney Plus; David Oyelowo to Possibly Star
For all their love of franchises, Disney has left one of its most obviously sequalizable properties untouched for decades. (Sequalizable is a word right? No? Well, it is now. Just accept it.) It didn’t break the bank when it premiered in 1991, but The Rocketeer steadily grew into one of the more popular... well “cult film” is a weird thing to call it because it was made by, y’know, one of the biggest media companies in history, but it certainly got popular on home video and cable. Still, that’s all it ever was; Disney never made a Rocketeer 2 (although they recently created one season of a very charming Rocketeer animated series for television, starring the original Rocketeer’s great-granddaughter).
Finally, Disney has realized what so many fans have been saying for years: The Rocketeer deserves a sequel. And it sounds like they’ve got an interesting idea for one as well. Deadline reports that they’re working with David and Jessica Oyelowo to produce what’s being called The Return of the Rocketeer, but rather than bringing back original star Billy Campbell, it “will have an all-new creative directive, with [screenwriter Ed] Ricourt’s story focusing on a retired Tuskegee airman who takes up the Rocketeer mantle.” Oyelowo may also star in the film, which is intended for the Disney+ streaming service.
That’s not a ton of details to go on, but it sounds like a really clever premise to use as an expansion of the Rocketeer concept. In the original film, a cocky young pilot (Campbell) finds an experimental prototype for a jetpack (created by Howard Hughes, who appears as a character in the movie, played by Terry O’Quinn) and uses it to become a superhero. The original film was set in the early years of World War II, so a film starring a Tuskegee Airman would likely take place just a few years later and still be a period piece.
Just a few weeks ago, it leaked out that the director of Marvel’s current What If...? series wanted the Rocketeer to guest star on an episode set during World War II with Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter. Now this new Return of the Rocketeer project. The Rocketeer, he’s so hot right now. The Rocketeer.
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