ᵒᴼᵒ☼)===>
July 30, 2016 10:17 AM   Subscribe

'The Rocketeer' Reboot in the Works From Disney [The Hollywood Reporter] “The new take keeps the story in a period setting and offers a fresh view on the characters. Set six years after the original Rocketeer and after Secord has vanished while fighting the Nazis, an unlikely new hero emerges: a young African-American female pilot, who takes up the mantle of Rocketeer in an attempt to stop an ambitious and corrupt rocket scientist from stealing jet-pack technology in what could prove to be a turning point in the Cold War.”
posted by Fizz (53 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
[Previously.]
posted by Fizz at 10:18 AM on July 30, 2016


I think I need to take a break from the Internet when I see otherwise good news and interesting casting choices and the first thought that pops in mind is the howling cries of white males complaining.
posted by Karaage at 10:27 AM on July 30, 2016 [24 favorites]


Hee, differentiating themselves from Iron Man with a black female successor. I'd like to have been in the studio when they found out about Riri Williams.
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:29 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


I don't remember a single thing about the plot of the original, but I am highly likely to watch the reboot just because the visuals were so pretty.
posted by kevinbelt at 10:31 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


the first thought that pops in mind is the howling cries of white males complaining.

Karaage, you're not the first one to have that thought or make that comment. I've heard a few people mention a similar sentiment. My sister and I grew up with this film. The first thing she said to me: "Those assholes were already angry about Ghostbusters, I can only imagine how upset they're going to be about this casting choice."

But, you know what, I don't care about what those people think. I like to think that we're starting to see a trend, a shift, where these types of casting choices will start to feel more natural and less of a surprise. Still a lot of progress to be made, but I'm glad that it's moving in the right direction.
posted by Fizz at 10:32 AM on July 30, 2016 [10 favorites]


It's a shame that James Horner is no longer around. It would have been wonderful to have him do the score for the sequel. That was one of the best parts of the film.
posted by Fizz at 10:35 AM on July 30, 2016 [5 favorites]


Loved Disney's work on the first one. If they give this production as much love and craft I'm sure it will be great.

And this is an easy choice for protagonist diversification; the rocket pack was found tech in the first place, there's little conceivable narrative reason the finder has to be a white dude.
posted by wildblueyonder at 10:38 AM on July 30, 2016 [7 favorites]


It's almost like the studios have learned to exploit the free publicity that comes with the internet howling of outraged fanboys. There's not enough of them to make difference at the box office (e.g. Snakes on a Plane, Serenity, Ghostbusters), but they make sure everyone knows the movie is out there.
posted by cardboard at 10:40 AM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


OK, but this new Rocketeer can still have a romantic subplot with Jennifer Connelly, right?
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 10:50 AM on July 30, 2016 [32 favorites]


I'm super-excited for this.
posted by drezdn at 11:05 AM on July 30, 2016


the original has super delightful practical effects and super shonky green screens and undercranked car chases. I hope they keep all that, but I don't know if people will get it.
posted by jonbro at 11:11 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


haha, I am like a ghostbro but nostalgic about shitty vfx.
posted by jonbro at 11:12 AM on July 30, 2016 [8 favorites]


Something something ethnic diversity. something something the word rocketeer. not really related, but I like this song
posted by otherchaz at 11:28 AM on July 30, 2016


I take it this version won't feature a photo-realistic avatar of Bettie Page as the Rocketeer's girlfriend?
posted by Bringer Tom at 11:51 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


I take it this version won't feature a photo-realistic avatar of Bettie Page as the Rocketeer's girlfriend?

Wouldn't it be amazing if it did, though?
posted by maxsparber at 12:00 PM on July 30, 2016 [10 favorites]


Sweet, I love the Rocketeer, and this sort of thing in general (art-deco punk?). Looking forward to this.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:12 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


My problem with this is that a sequel to the original is an answer to a question very few people are asking. My friends are the geeky target demographic for this type of film and have walls of DVDs to prove it, and I can't think of anyone I know that owns or even mentions it. It wasn't quite a flop but it was not a success and disappeared fast from the public consciousness.

If the sequel flops, I think that some influential people will use it as an argument against having non-white males as the leads.
posted by Candleman at 12:17 PM on July 30, 2016


Well, I can tell right offhand that this film is going to pass the Furiosa Test.
posted by happyroach at 12:20 PM on July 30, 2016 [9 favorites]


I saw Rocketeer in the theater during its first week of released. Really loved it. Thought it had a great look and feel. Don't remember much about the plot, but instead have a suffused feeling of warmth and enjoyment when I think about it. Plus, Alan Arkin was a lot of fun as the bumbling inventor.

I hope they stick with practical effects for this sequel, as that was a lot of the charm of the original movie.

Now, when do talks start about a reboot or sequel to Condorman?
posted by hippybear at 12:23 PM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


Shortly after we get a gritty reboot of Pumaman.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 12:33 PM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]


Shortly after we get a gritty reboot of Pumaman The Phantom.

Fixed.
posted by Fizz at 12:35 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


cardboard: It's almost like the studios have learned to exploit the free publicity that comes with the internet howling of outraged fanboys. There's not enough of them to make difference at the box office (e.g. Snakes on a Plane, Serenity, Ghostbusters), but they make sure everyone knows the movie is out there.

This made me think of the fake Gandhi quote: First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

First they ignored actors of color, then they stuck them in cliched, humorous but flat supporting roles , then people fought the idea that people of color could play lead roles, then some movie theaters utilized that fear to help sell movies with more diverse casts, then everyone took diversity in movies for granted and everyone was better for it.

If movie theaters are doing this (in part) to get free publicity, it's still achieving better diversity in films. Now let's make movie posters better.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:47 PM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


I was 9 when the original Rocketeer came out, just the right age for it to make a HUGE impression on me. I used to draw massive scenes on butcher paper of the Rocketeer teaming up with other heroes to battle Nazis and whatnot. I made the helmet and backpack out of cardboard and foil. It's far from the best superhero movie, but it'll always be my favorite. I'm super game for a new movie.

Personally I find the recent push toward building shared worlds in film franchises to be a little tiresome sometimes. But that being said, if Disney felt inclined to put together a shared universe with similarly updated takes on The Phantom, The Shadow, and maybe Doc Savage? I'd be there day 1 wearing the t-shirt.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 12:55 PM on July 30, 2016 [5 favorites]


The original was great and introduced my young self to Timothy Dalton, who's wonderful in just about everything. I can't wait to see how this goes and hope it joins Ghostbusters, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Deadpool in the recent trend of films that are just fun!
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:31 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


with similarly updated takes on The Phantom, The Shadow, and maybe Doc Savage

We've got a Doc Savage movie in the works right now.

(I read something like 140 of the 181 Doc Savage books while I was in college. Really an interesting deep dive into a universe. I highly recommend Doc Savage books for people who like somewhat intelligent adventure stories and who also enjoy binge-watching television series. The books are short enough you can read on in a couple of hours, so you can really burn through them if you're a dedicated reader.)
posted by hippybear at 1:46 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


Wish it were being written by women instead of two guys.
posted by OolooKitty at 1:48 PM on July 30, 2016 [6 favorites]


Rocka-who?
posted by asterix at 2:06 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


But that being said, if Disney felt inclined to put together a shared universe with similarly updated takes on The Phantom, The Shadow, and maybe Doc Savage? I'd be there day 1 wearing the t-shirt.

Holy shit yes. The first story arc would be the other heroes (maybe all veterans of the same WWI commando unit or something) finding out that esteemed hero Doc Savage is a brainwashing egomaniac. Can he be redeemed? Does he do more good than harm? Where is the Doc's clinic and what goes on there? Is Pat Savage really a cousin, or the next generation of Savage Ubermensch?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:20 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


a sequel to the original is an answer to a question very few people are asking

I think the only sequel I've wanted more would be Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League.
posted by radwolf76 at 2:54 PM on July 30, 2016 [13 favorites]


I loved The Rocketeer. The SNES game was awesome, too. This sequel sounds like it'll be fun, and I'm 100% here for it.

Sweet, I love the Rocketeer, and this sort of thing in general (art-deco punk?).

The most common term of art is "diesel punk", I believe.
posted by tobascodagama at 3:37 PM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]


Shortly after we get a gritty reboot of The Phantom.

Kinda sorta already done.
posted by JakeEXTREME at 3:53 PM on July 30, 2016


Maybe I've got the terms wrong, but it's not a "casting choice" that the main character will be a black woman, is it?

Alan Arkin is still acting, right?
posted by ODiV at 3:57 PM on July 30, 2016


Oh, and I totally didn't show how totally enthusiastic I am for this. I have a soft spot for the original and this could be super awesome.
posted by ODiV at 4:02 PM on July 30, 2016


I *loved* the original Rocketeer, but I recall being aware even as a child that no one else seemed to care about it very much. I have mixed feelings about a new one, because it was one of the relatively few properties I loved that I felt was pretty much complete and didn't beg for more stories.

I'm glad they're doing more of a sequel than an actual reboot. However, I'm also unable to shake the feeling that this was the outcome of pure cynical positioning, like someone wanted to take advantage of the shrieking-white-male effect that cardboard mentioned above and there was a meeting where they all went through the IPs they owned and tried to pick one that was perfectly balanced between having been popular with the male shriekers as children and yet being small and low-profit enough these days that it wouldn't hurt the bottom line if the shriekers actually succeeded in torpedoing the reboot for once.

Still, like filthy light thief implied, even if they're improving diversity out of cynicism and an attempt to generate "controversy" and thereby profits, at least they're still improving diversity. Hopefully someday it won't be considered noteworthy at all when non-white non-male characters anchor mainstream films.
posted by Scattercat at 4:33 PM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]


I'm cynical about this, but not for the reasons cardboard describes.

I think someone at Disney noticed that they had this property that had no Disney Princesses, and that had to be corrected.
posted by billm at 5:18 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


It is impossible to overstate how cool I would be with an African American Disney princess heroine who wears a diesel punk jet pack to fight evil scientists.

Team Power-of-the-Disney-Princess-Marketing-Brand-Modeling-Kickass-Black-Heroines-Who-Save-The-Day-Who-Still-Get-to-Wear-Poofy-Gowns-if-They-Want.
posted by joyceanmachine at 6:02 PM on July 30, 2016 [9 favorites]


I kind of thought that the first MCU Captain America film owed a bit to Rocketeer especially since Johnston directed both.
posted by octothorpe at 6:14 PM on July 30, 2016 [6 favorites]


I'm just wary about moving The Rocketeer forward to the Cold War era, considering how that worked for Indiana Jones.
posted by ckape at 6:36 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


At least it's far enough away from the original period that they (hopefully) won't title it The Rocketrix.
posted by detachd at 6:55 PM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


Yeah, I first learned of this from my brother-in-law, who called it "sacrilege." And then my father-in-law commented to call it "heresy."

I call it "completely awesome sounding."
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:09 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh, such a crush on Connelly. I never made the Betty Page connection. There is much about my adolescence that makes so much more sense.
posted by Strange_Robinson at 9:48 PM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]


I think someone at Disney noticed that they had this property that had no Disney Princesses, and that had to be corrected.

Princesses with rocket packs? Bring it!
posted by mikelieman at 11:56 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


Your friendly neighborhood ghostbro here! You may choose to believe this or not, but speaking as a bro, I am completely and totally open to this idea and I hope it is done well. When the trailer for this comes out, I hope my reaction is similar to the ones I have upon seeing the trailers for The Force Awakens, The Legend of Korra, and Wonder Woman. I want to say "that looks awesome!"

Not, you know, the opposite reaction.
posted by ELF Radio at 2:36 AM on July 31, 2016


At least it's far enough away from the original period that they (hopefully) won't title it The Rocketrix.

I read somewhere that it was tentatively titled: The Rocketeers

So, maybe it's setting it up as a kind of good guys team force thing.
posted by Fizz at 4:48 AM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh, such a crush on Connelly. I never made the Betty Page connection. There is much about my adolescence that makes so much more sense.

Yeah, in Dave Stevens' original comic, her character was named Betty and was basically just him drawing Bettie Page into his comic.

Here is an article if you're interested.

Furthermore, yay for more diesel/deco punk adventures! Although I guess this will be more Cold War, but still, yay rocket packs!
posted by Fleebnork at 7:38 AM on July 31, 2016


So much gorgeous Dave Stevens art in that article, Flleebnork. I didn't know he'd gone on to become friends with Bettie in her older years - which is a nice sweet coda to both their lives.
posted by Paul Slade at 8:26 AM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


Given Rocketeer the ol' Tron treatment, eh Disney?
posted by sleeping bear at 9:45 AM on July 31, 2016


The Shadow, Doc Savage, and Ham and Monk all showed up in the original comic (although they weren't named.) The rocket pack belonged to Doc Savage in the comic book.
posted by marxchivist at 10:01 AM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I first learned of this from my brother-in-law, who called it "sacrilege." And then my father-in-law commented to call it "heresy."

I'm sure there are quite a few people having this reaction.

I wonder how many of them have seen or even thought about The Rocketeer at any point in the last decade or so.
posted by tobascodagama at 1:40 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


Poor Jennifer Connolly never got to do much but look luscious in the first one, plus the rest of the acting/plot was warmed-over nostalgia, predictable and flat. Making the protagonist a woman would certainly help, but I hope they give her a decent plot and supporting characters or it will still be a yawnfest.
posted by emjaybee at 7:48 PM on July 31, 2016


Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League

I can parse this two very different ways.
posted by clew at 8:37 PM on July 31, 2016


Furthermore, yay for more diesel/deco punk adventures!

Deco punk can only take you so far: see The Shadow

That film was a mess.
posted by Fizz at 5:58 AM on August 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


Fleebnork, thank you for that article. My memories of my youth are absolutely unreliable, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't until I was much older that I discovered Page. Now I'm trying to remember where I first learned of Stevens. This web of connections and influences is great fun.
posted by Strange_Robinson at 6:44 AM on August 1, 2016


« Older The murder of Chandra Levy remains unsolved   |   "Hearing my trucks on metal is like therapy,” Ms.... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments