Director Nick Castle’s 1984 sci-fi film The Last Starfighter is one of the most revered cult classics of the 1980s, so it has been no surprise to hear that the film’s screenwriter Jonathan R. Betuel is eager to revive the property is some way. Eight years ago, it was announced that Betuel was working on a spin-off TV series called The Starfighter Chronicles, which would focus on alien law enforcement. That project has never made it into production. Five years ago, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writer Gary Whitta revealed that he was working with Betuel on a reboot called The Last Starfighters. That one even got a sizzle reel, but still didn’t make it into production. Now, during an interview with Gizmodo, actor Wyatt Russell revealed that he’d love to see a remake of The Last Starfighter.
While doing the press rounds with his father...
While doing the press rounds with his father...
- 12/14/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Look, I know what you're thinking: "'The Last Starfighter 2'? What dried-up, over-the-hill Gen-Xers and Millennials still drunk on '80s nostalgia are clinging to the hope of that ever coming to pass?" Actually, you know what, I apologize, that's a bad faith take. You didn't click on this article just to make fun of "Last Starfighter" fans for grasping at straws. You're here because, unlike those know-it-alls, you're aware that "The Last Starfighter 2" is surprisingly close to becoming a real thing.
For those who are feeling a little like Cousin Greg on "Succession" learning about Nero and Sporus right now, allow me to bring you up to speed. Released in 1984, "The Last Starfighter" centers on Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a teenager who spends his free time losing himself in video games as a way of countering his disillusionment with his seemingly go-nowhere trailer park existence. However, everything changes when...
For those who are feeling a little like Cousin Greg on "Succession" learning about Nero and Sporus right now, allow me to bring you up to speed. Released in 1984, "The Last Starfighter" centers on Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a teenager who spends his free time losing himself in video games as a way of countering his disillusionment with his seemingly go-nowhere trailer park existence. However, everything changes when...
- 10/29/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
On July 13, 1984, Universal debuted Nick Castle’s sci-fi actioner The Last Starfighter in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review, headlined “‘Starfighter’ summer tonic for youthful sci-fi film enthusiasts,” is below:
The Last Starfighter is a fight science-fiction adventure that may prove a summer tonic to young viewers whose heads swirl with notions of alien planets, forces and intergalactic warriors. For others, this Universal/Lorimar production may be an all-too-familiar trek through familiar plot terrain and special effects wizardry.
Lance Guest stars as a recent high school grad who’s a videogame whiz. Guest lives in a trailer park and aspires to bigger things. He wants to go away to school, not just the local community college, but doesn’t have the funds. The best thing about his life is his frisky girl friend (Catherine Mary Stewart) and the escapist time he spends,...
On July 13, 1984, Universal debuted Nick Castle’s sci-fi actioner The Last Starfighter in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review, headlined “‘Starfighter’ summer tonic for youthful sci-fi film enthusiasts,” is below:
The Last Starfighter is a fight science-fiction adventure that may prove a summer tonic to young viewers whose heads swirl with notions of alien planets, forces and intergalactic warriors. For others, this Universal/Lorimar production may be an all-too-familiar trek through familiar plot terrain and special effects wizardry.
Lance Guest stars as a recent high school grad who’s a videogame whiz. Guest lives in a trailer park and aspires to bigger things. He wants to go away to school, not just the local community college, but doesn’t have the funds. The best thing about his life is his frisky girl friend (Catherine Mary Stewart) and the escapist time he spends,...
- 7/13/2022
- by Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After spending decades in the planning stages, a sequel to 1984’s cult sci-fi classic The Last Starfighter is finally throwing off the shackles imposed by endless rights issues and studio problems.
In a new interview with Moviehole, the film’s co-writer, Jonathan R. Betuel, has offered an update on the status of The Last Starfighter 2, which he has been plotting for quite a while with Rogue One and Star Wars Rebels scribe Gary Whitta.
Whitta has previously described the project as “a combination of reboot and sequel that we both think honors the legacy of the original film while passing the torch to a new generation” and plans are still very much in motion to see the movie come to fruition.
“It looks like we’ll be making the deal to get it going,” Betuel confirmed. “Gary’s a gifted collaborator, we’ll be writing the script together but it’s taken a long time.
In a new interview with Moviehole, the film’s co-writer, Jonathan R. Betuel, has offered an update on the status of The Last Starfighter 2, which he has been plotting for quite a while with Rogue One and Star Wars Rebels scribe Gary Whitta.
Whitta has previously described the project as “a combination of reboot and sequel that we both think honors the legacy of the original film while passing the torch to a new generation” and plans are still very much in motion to see the movie come to fruition.
“It looks like we’ll be making the deal to get it going,” Betuel confirmed. “Gary’s a gifted collaborator, we’ll be writing the script together but it’s taken a long time.
- 10/19/2020
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
1984’s The Last Starfighter film is becoming a TV series, with virtual reality sequences merged with live action…
Here’s an interesting one. While there’s no shortage of film-to-tv adaptations in the works, we can’t think of a single TV show that is currently trying to blend virtual reality technology with its subject matter. Until now, that is.
A Vr-meets-telly story inspired by the Nick Castle-directed 1984 film The Last Starfighter is in development, according to Jonathan Betuel, who wrote the original. Betuel and Castle’s film focused on a young gamer who is recruited to defend Earth from aliens after topping the leader board in the Starfighter arcade game. The TV show will focus on 'alien law enforcement,' and isn't a direct continuation or remake of the film.
The film, as you may already know, was one of the first to blend computer-generated imagery with live action environments.
Here’s an interesting one. While there’s no shortage of film-to-tv adaptations in the works, we can’t think of a single TV show that is currently trying to blend virtual reality technology with its subject matter. Until now, that is.
A Vr-meets-telly story inspired by the Nick Castle-directed 1984 film The Last Starfighter is in development, according to Jonathan Betuel, who wrote the original. Betuel and Castle’s film focused on a young gamer who is recruited to defend Earth from aliens after topping the leader board in the Starfighter arcade game. The TV show will focus on 'alien law enforcement,' and isn't a direct continuation or remake of the film.
The film, as you may already know, was one of the first to blend computer-generated imagery with live action environments.
- 7/15/2015
- by rleane
- Den of Geek
Hotel Transylvania: As the animated sequel Hotel Transylvania 2 prepares for its theatrical release on September 25, a television version is under development. While the movies have revolved around Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler), the proposed series would focus on Dracula's teenage daughter Mavis and her friends. Selena Gomez voiced the character in the movies (above), but it's not known who will take on the role for television. The series is aiming to launch in eary 2017. [The Wrap] The Last Starfighter: A spinoff of the beloved 1984 science-fiction adventure The Last Starfighter will be adapted for the small screen. Jonathan Betuel, who wrote the screenplay about a video-game expert who is drafted by an alien race to defend it from sinister invaders, is...
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- 7/15/2015
- by Peter Martin
- Movies.com
We’ve had more than our fair share of ‘80s movie franchises and/or TV shows getting the reboot treatment in Hollywood —yoo many to count at this point. Even with that in consideration, you may be surprised to hear that a serious attempt is being made to create a television spinoff of the 1984 film “The Last Starfighter.” If you’re not old enough to remember, “The Last Starfighter” was one of the first big blockbuster movies to utilize CGI, long before it became commonplace. Now screenwriter Jonathan Betuel, who penned the screenplay for the film over 30 years ago, is attempting to make a 'Starfighter'-themed TV show. His goal is to make it the first TV show that embraces virtual reality technology. The concept of the TV show, currently called “The Starfighter Chronicles,” would depart significantly from the movie. The film tells the story of a teenage boy/video game...
- 7/15/2015
- by Ken Guidry
- The Playlist
It’s been the white whale for filmmakers for years, with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Seth Rogen trying to shoot their remake spears into The Last Starfighter. But after years of brushing aside every request, original writer and rights-holder Jonathan Betuel is spearheading not a new film, but a TV series that will only obliquely reference the 1984 original.The film, which some may fondly remember from the early days of home VHS machines (it was the first film this writer’s family rented), The Last Starfighter was the story of Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a video game-obsessed teenager who becomes Starfighter’s highest scorer and is whisked off to help fight in a massive alien conflict. Although initially reticent, he agrees when he discovers that the enemy has wiped out most of the pilots who trained with him.Despite his own stand against remakes in the years, Betuel...
- 7/15/2015
- EmpireOnline
Over thirty years on, the sci-fi cult classic "The Last Starfighter" is set to get a revival in a whole new arena.
The original film's scribe Jonathan Betuel has teamed with the La-based Surreal.tv to work on "The Starfighter Chronicles," a new TV series based on the project which will also be the first TV series to embrace virtual reality.
The original film saw a teenage video-game fan thrown into outer space to fight in an interstellar war. The new series however will be a serialized story about alien law enforcement and "instilling a moral code".
While the show will be viewable on plain old TVs, certain sequences will allow viewers equipped with virtual reality headsets to break the frame and look around the scene's environments in all directions.
Surreal's Andy Vick and Rick Rey are also helping develop the project which is still in very early stages.
Source:...
The original film's scribe Jonathan Betuel has teamed with the La-based Surreal.tv to work on "The Starfighter Chronicles," a new TV series based on the project which will also be the first TV series to embrace virtual reality.
The original film saw a teenage video-game fan thrown into outer space to fight in an interstellar war. The new series however will be a serialized story about alien law enforcement and "instilling a moral code".
While the show will be viewable on plain old TVs, certain sequences will allow viewers equipped with virtual reality headsets to break the frame and look around the scene's environments in all directions.
Surreal's Andy Vick and Rick Rey are also helping develop the project which is still in very early stages.
Source:...
- 7/14/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
On July 13, 1984, Nick Castle’s The Last Starfighter was released in theaters everywhere by Universal Studios. Written by Jonathan Betuel and starring newcomers Lance Guest and Catherine Mary Stewart, as well as seasoned actors like Robert Preston and Dan O’Herlihy, The Last Starfighter was a landmark film of its time in regards to what it managed to accomplish with CGI graphics and quickly became my personal Star Wars once I discovered it in late 1985 on VHS.
For those who may have never experienced Castle’s underrated classic feel-good sci-fi tale, The Last Starfighter follows teenager Alex Rogan (Guest) who is recruited to be part of an alien defense force after he beats a video game. A trailer park kid who never expected his life to be anything but ordinary, Alex is suddenly tasked with saving the universe from the evil Emperor Xur (Norman Snow), who has wiped out all that oppose him,...
For those who may have never experienced Castle’s underrated classic feel-good sci-fi tale, The Last Starfighter follows teenager Alex Rogan (Guest) who is recruited to be part of an alien defense force after he beats a video game. A trailer park kid who never expected his life to be anything but ordinary, Alex is suddenly tasked with saving the universe from the evil Emperor Xur (Norman Snow), who has wiped out all that oppose him,...
- 7/13/2014
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
So here we are in Christmas week, most of the usual streaming companies have done well for you so that you won’t be too bored post turkey when you have to tolerate the family. Apart from Now TV though, there is still a serious lack of Christmas themed films out there which is a disappointment unless you really like the Santa Clause movies because they are floating around Netflix somewhere.
Good news for 2014 though is that House of Cards season two debuts on Netflix in February and also the Breaking Bad/Bob Odenkirk spin-off “Better Call Saul” is going to make its way to Netflix at some point during the year as well. Netflix has agreed a deal where they will stream the show very soon after season one ends on AMC stateside but in Europe they will be the exclusive home of the show. This probably means that...
Good news for 2014 though is that House of Cards season two debuts on Netflix in February and also the Breaking Bad/Bob Odenkirk spin-off “Better Call Saul” is going to make its way to Netflix at some point during the year as well. Netflix has agreed a deal where they will stream the show very soon after season one ends on AMC stateside but in Europe they will be the exclusive home of the show. This probably means that...
- 12/23/2013
- by Chris Holt
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A 1985 sci-fi comedy about a high school gearhead (Christine's John Stockwell) who passes off a crashed UFO engine he found in a junkyard as his science project, triggering an uncontrollable time warp in the school. My Science Project is as Eighties as Eighties gets, even more so its theme song by The Tubes.
The Tubes truly were the perfect band to perform the theme song to a film such as My Science Project given how frequently their music and live shows featured allusions to both mainstream and b-movies alike. They did a song titled “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman,” after all.
As for “My Science Project” the song, the closing credits of the film of the name looks to be the only place you’ll ever hear it, and even then the tune gets periodically interrupted for some outtakes and deleted scenes involving Fisher Stevens’ comic relief sidekick being, which,...
The Tubes truly were the perfect band to perform the theme song to a film such as My Science Project given how frequently their music and live shows featured allusions to both mainstream and b-movies alike. They did a song titled “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman,” after all.
As for “My Science Project” the song, the closing credits of the film of the name looks to be the only place you’ll ever hear it, and even then the tune gets periodically interrupted for some outtakes and deleted scenes involving Fisher Stevens’ comic relief sidekick being, which,...
- 5/4/2013
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
Welcome back to The Pitch where I give Hollywood some of my ideas on old projects, franchises, reboots, remakes and everything else except my own personal concepts – because that is just stupid. I was watching one of my favorite films as child the other day, The Last Starfighter and not only was I amazed at how awesome that movie still is but the concept is just one that I love. I have been a fan of your “fish out of water sci-fi stories” for years and thats exactly what this movie is about.
A young teen going nowhere with his life finding something he never dreamed in a simple arcade game its just a nice concept. In today’s Hollywood remakes are the status quo and sci-fi 80s classics like Flight of the Navigator and Black Hole are getting modern updates why not this movie? To be clear, I am...
A young teen going nowhere with his life finding something he never dreamed in a simple arcade game its just a nice concept. In today’s Hollywood remakes are the status quo and sci-fi 80s classics like Flight of the Navigator and Black Hole are getting modern updates why not this movie? To be clear, I am...
- 5/6/2010
- by Kevin Coll
- FusedFilm
Chicago – You won’t find the kind of diversity that exists in HollywoodChicago.com’s Blu-Ray Round-Up too many places online. Where else can modern sci-fi mingle with quarter-century-old genre product and hang out with Oscar winners and slapstick comedies? Nowhere.
The Round-Up is our regular informational column about titles that may have slipped under your radar just because they haven’t been on the cover of Entertainment Weekly or in the point-of-purchase slot at your local Blu-Ray store. Today’s edition of the Round-Up is particularly impressive with a massive comedy hit from Adam Sandler, a sci-fi cult classic, a great new TV show, and the film that made Billy Bob Thornton a star.
“Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead” was released on July 28th, 2009.
“Sling Blade,” and “The Waterboy” were released on August 4th, 2009.
“The Last Starfighter” will be released on August 18th, 2009.
“Doctor Who...
The Round-Up is our regular informational column about titles that may have slipped under your radar just because they haven’t been on the cover of Entertainment Weekly or in the point-of-purchase slot at your local Blu-Ray store. Today’s edition of the Round-Up is particularly impressive with a massive comedy hit from Adam Sandler, a sci-fi cult classic, a great new TV show, and the film that made Billy Bob Thornton a star.
“Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead” was released on July 28th, 2009.
“Sling Blade,” and “The Waterboy” were released on August 4th, 2009.
“The Last Starfighter” will be released on August 18th, 2009.
“Doctor Who...
- 8/12/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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