Filmmaker Eugene Ashe (“Sylvie’s Love”) has officially joined Disney+’s reboot of “The Rocketeer.” David Oyelowo (“Silo”) is attached to star in/produce the project as a part of a two-year first-look deal with Disney.
“The Rocketeer” is based on the comic book character of the same name created by the late artist/writer Dave Stevens. The character first appeared in 1982, as a back-up story in “Starslayer.” He eventually gained solo comics, where he perpetually saves his Betty Page-ish girlfriend from villains while uncovering sinister plots.
Disney’s first film adaptation of “The Rocketeer” came in 1991. It is set in Los Angeles in 1938, and follows Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell), a young stunt pilot who finds a prototype jetpack. As soon as he straps on that rocket he becomes the high-flying hero known as The Rocketeer. But like any good hero, he needs a foe, and what better villains than Nazis?
When some Third Reich dirtbags become interested in his rocket pack, Secord must use his new powers to protect his loved ones. Which includes his struggling actress girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly). It is up to him to save the day and prevent his foes from getting their hands on the jetpack’s power.
The film was directed by Joe Johnston (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) and also starred Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, with the late Paul Sorvino. Despite its visuals by Industrial Light & Magic and a gorgeous score by James Horner, the film underperformed at the box office. But it did eventually find its footing as a cult classic.
So much so that the character was briefly brought back in 2019 for an animated preschool series called “The Rocketeer,” with Campbell voicing Dave Secord. However in the first episode, he does voice Cliff via some newsreel footage. The show only lasted one season but is still available to stream via Disney+.
There was another attempt to bring the character back to the big screen with J.D. Dillard (“Devotion”) directing. But Dillard told TheWrap last year, that while “I love, love, love ‘The Rocketeer,’” he was no longer involved in the new film.
Even with Dillard’s version not panning out, it seems Oyelowo is just as dedicated to doing the 1991 film justice. “I was a big fan of the first one. Actually had the poster up in my bedroom as a teenager. It’s a beloved property over [at Disney], so to be trusted with it is a real privilege. We’re going to take care of the fans of the original and hopefully bring in a whole new fanbase. In our film, he’s going to be an ex-Tuskegee airman, so it’s still in that 1940s milieu,” said Oyelowo “We know we have to adhere to the things that people loved about the first one. But that was 30 years ago, so we want to make a film that’s going to resonate for the next 30 years and especially for the now. That’s the needle we have to thread and we’re working hard to do so.”
We’ll keep you posted on updates about “The Rocketeer,” as they become available.
