Sad news came in May that Dianey’s plans to develop “The Return of the Rocketeer,” a sequel to the 1991 Joe Johnston-directed feature, were effectively cancelled.
British actor David Oyelowo was set to both star in and produce the film, which had been in development for at least two years, and he would’ve played a retired Tuskegee airman who takes up the mantle of the Rocketeer.
He revealed to The LA Times in May, however, that both that film and Netflix’s “Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun” adaptation were essentially ‘too political’ to be made these days and so were dead in the water.
Cut to this week, and original “Rocketeer” star Billy Campbell, out promoting the Sophie Turner-led thriller “Trust,” tells ComicBookMovie that he remains optimistic that the franchise could eventually return to screens:
“I would love to [return]. That film was such a seminal moment in my life, and I loved it so much. I loved everything about it. I made lifelong friendships. I was friends with Alan [Arkin] to the day he died. Friends with Dave Stevens, who also is gone.
I can’t say enough about it, so I’m all for a reboot if someone who also loves the property as much as I love it, and is willing to honour Dave’s vision. I’m all for a reboot.
Obviously, I’m too long in the tooth. Maybe they give me a cameo or something, I don’t know, but I’d love to see it, whether I was in it or not. More importantly, I’d love to see it treated well and treated respectfully.”
Campbell starred as stunt pilot Cliff Secord in 1938 California, who comes into possession of a prototype rocket pack from aviation magnate Howard Hughes. Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton and Alan Arkin co-starred. The actor reprised the role in a voice-only capacity for a Disney Jr. series in 2019.
