THE LAST STARFIGHTER 2 Finally Moving Forward Confirms Writer
Mike Sprague
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Jonathan R. Betuel, one of the writers behind director Nick Castle’s 1984 sci-fi adventure The Last Starfighter says the long-awaited sequel is finally in the works.
Betuel and Gary Whitta (Rogue One) will write The Last Starfighter 2 which Betuel describes 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.”
He tells MovieHole: “It looks like we’ll be making the deal to get it going. Gary’s a gifted collaborator, we’ll be writing the script together but it’s taken a long time. I had to go through a process that took years to recapture the rights, but that was recently completed and although nothing is ever clear sailing, it looks like we have a really good opportunity now. So I’m really looking forward to taking it up.”
He adds: “They’re now parents and time has passed. It’s not a remake, it’s going to continue the story. What’s changed is time itself, certainly as the video world and the alien world have continued to tick away. It’s not a time capsule of the 80s by any means, we’re taking it to the next level. Passing the torch… or the joystick.”
The original film follows everyday teenager Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) who finally achieves the high score on his favorite arcade game, Starfighter, and meets the game’s designer, who reveals he created the game as a training ground for developing and recruiting actual pilots to help fight a war in space. Whisked away from the banality of his trailer park life to a distant alien planet, Alex struggles to use his video game-playing skills to pilot a real ship, with real lives at stake.
All that said, Betuel denied the rumored TV series sequel was ever possible and promises The Last Starfighter 2 will hit the big screen, saying: “I didn’t generate that [report], that was a misfire from a wishful TV producer at the time. This is a movie with all the bells and whistles, and it won’t presuppose that you’ve seen the original film. There’ll be references here and there, but it’ll carry the saga forward.”
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