Released in 1984, The Last Starfighter wasn’t necessarily a Star Wars-sized hit, but it quickly became a cult favourite. About an ordinary American kid who discovers that his favourite arcade game is actually a recruitment device for an alien race desperate for ace pilots, it was pure 80s wish-fulfilment – and with its use of CGI, was quite cutting edge for its time.
Like so many other cherished items from the 80s, though, The Last Starfighter is getting a reboot, courtesy of Star Wars: Rogue One screenwriter Gary Whitta. He’s currently working on the project with co-writer Jonathan Betuel, who wrote and created the original movie. Whitta disclosed all this on his Twitter feed – where he also shared some early concept art.
“Okay, probably shouldn’t show you this so early,” Whitta wrote, “but here’s a little something I’ve been tinkering on with my co-writer Jonathan Betuel. You might recognise the ships…”
The artwork’s by Matt Allsopp, who previously worked with Whitta on his Star Wars spin-off, Rogue One. And as Whitta says, the ships planned for this new Starfighter look very much like the ones of old.
At this early stage, we don’t know much more about who will direct or star in the reboot, or even how close it is to getting a greenlight. The Last Starfighter also faces a bit of competition from a similar project – Universal’s adaptation of Armada, the other novel by Ready Player One writer Ernest Cline. That story is about a kid who discovers that his favourite videogame is a recruitment tool used to find pilots who can help fight an alien invasion. Sound familiar?
Just to complicate matters, The Last Starfighter is also apparently at Universal, according to Whitta’s recent interview with io9:
“We’ve had a lot of talks with Universal. We’re determined, one way or another, to make this happen. Trying to create in Hollywood is always like pushing a boulder uphill, particularly when there are archaic rights issues involved, but we’re going to keep trying.”
Still, The Last Starfighter’s familiarity as an 80s cult gem gives it weight of its own, and Whitta’s form in the sci-fi genre – he previously wrote The Book Of Eli and After Earth as well as Rogue One – means we could be in for an intriguing new take on a time-worn story.
More on this as we get it.