Last Starfighter remake in the works

WITH the current box-office success of Ready Player One, Universal Pictures has hired a writer to draft the screenplay for Ernest Cline’s second novel Armada, which references 80s cult classic sci-fi film The Last Starfighter.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writer Gary Whitta is teasing a hybrid reboot and sequel of The Last Starfighter with a selection of four concept art pieces posted on Twitter, prompting immediate comparisons with the original.

“Okay, probably shouldn’t show you this so early but here’s a little something I’ve been tinkering on with my co-writer Jonathan Betuel,” he tweeted on April 4. As it happens, Betuel wrote The Last Starfighter.

“You might recognise the ships,” Whitta wrote, crediting Rogue One concept lead Matt Allsopp with their creation.

The rocket ships depicted in the four illustrations bear a striking resemblance to those in 1984’s The Last Starfighter, as did several emblems and pilot jumpsuit designs.

In the movie, teenager Alex Rogan is so good at playing an arcade game called Starfighter that the game’s creator makes contact with him.

It soon becomes apparent that the game is a recruitment tool for the Rylan Star League, an interplanetary alliance locked in a struggle with the Ko-Dan Empire, and Alex is invited to join up.

Lest there be any doubt about the connection, Whitta followed up with a still from the original movie and, later, four more pieces of concept art, signing off with the phrase #GreetingsStarfighter.

“Right now, we have a fully developed story that is a combination of reboot and sequel that we both think honours the legacy of the original film while passing the torch to a new generation,” he then told io9.

“We’re trying really hard to make this a reality. It’s a passion project for Jon and me both.” – AFP-Relaxnews