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The Last Starfighter is Getting a Sequel, Too?!

by Alex Billington
February 28, 2008
Source: Cinema Blend

Yesterday it was just a rumor, but today it's pretty much confirmed - The Last Starfighter is getting a sequel. Like The Lost Boys before it, they're now revisiting classic 80's movies and ripping everything good out of them and then turning them into modernized Hollywood piles of crap. Our friends at Cinema Blend have been hard at work uncovering all of the details about this sequel, and it doesn't sound too good, but who am I to say that this early in the game? One thing is for sure - we've officially entered the era of the 80's revisited in Hollywood. With Transformers turning out to be a huge hit, they're out finding every last nostalgic 80's "whatever" and revisiting it again, from G.I. Joe to The Last Starfighter to Akira.

The Last Starfighter Josh Tyler over at Cinema Blend initially picked up a scoop on the sequel, supposedly titled Son of the Starfighter, from an anonymous emailer, but wasn't sure whether it was just a big rumor. The scooper reported that a production company called George Paige and Associates was already in pre-production on the film with shooting scheduled to begin next month. He also added that "it involves original director Nick Castle, writer Jonathan Betuel and actor Lance Guest. It's your basic Son of the Starfighter storyline and actually sounds pretty cool." Lance Guest did appear in the first movie as the teenager Alex Rogan, so it would make sense that they'd want him back, especially if they're considering a story involving his son.

After first hearing about the project, Josh seemed to be a bit skeptical (as were we), pointing out that George Paige and Associates isn't exactly a big or reputable production company and that this whole project seems a little bit far fetched, even for them. However, the project does show up officially on their website and also lists Universal Pictures and Warner Brothers as the distributors, along with Relativity Media as the additional production company. Considering Relativity Media and Universal Pictures just signed a big four-year deal, this could actually be legit.

How is it, in my many years of childhood, that I happened to miss the glorious 80's sci-fi classic The Last Starfighter? I really do not know. The movie is about an arcade video gamer who is recruited by an alien defense force in order to put his skills to use defending the galaxy from an invasion. This wonderfully brilliant cinematic classic made a whopping $28.7 million at the box office in its 1984 debut. Why this is prime choice for a sequel in 2008, I don't know. Maybe someone who's a big fan of this movie can help with that explanation.

Until we get some official confirmation, most of this is a rumor. However, it is confirmed that this sequel is actually in production, but that doesn't mean any of the names previously mentioned are actually attached. Josh also mentions that this would be getting a theatrical release with a mid-range budget at least, so if he's right, you can be certain that this won't be a forgettable revival in the years to come.

Does The Last Starfighter really need a sequel, modernized or not?

Explore tags: Movie News, Rumors

Heckle

Alex you have to watch The Last Starfighter. Excellent escapism.
http://www.myspace.com/kevjohnphotography kevjohn

Two words: Death Blossom.
Ian

Actually, it was a pretty good story. I of course watched it originally when it came out, I liked it a lot, it was my kind of thing. I was the kid who spent his lunch money AND bus fare in the arcade (and the money to call home after I spent bus fare too, as I recall). The thing is he wasn't just good at arcade games - the game he was good at was specifically a planted 'recruitment' tool; kinda like an "America's Army" of 1984, only it came from Aplha Centauri, where they recruit kids to save the universe, I guess. It was kind of like a Star Wars that everyone could aspire too. What if "I" play a video game well enough to get recruited... oooh that'd be cool as anything! Like I said, I played all my quarters, and then some. So, when the thing comes on TV like a few months ago, I figure, it'll suck, but for reminiscence, I'll give it 20 minutes. Well, I watched the whole thing and even got a tear in my beer near the end. (Death Blossom!! Woo!!) Does it need a squel? Nope. Neither did "Highlander." Some movies need to stand alone. Ian PS - @Heckle - Agreed, Alex you gotta watch this film.
carg0

a sequel? not a remake? and today's generation of moviegoer's are going to identify with a sequel to a movie that came out nearly 25 years ago? yea, sure why not...lord knows that rationale worked so well for Superman Returns.
Kick The Donkey

What do we do? We die.
Orjan

This is excellent news. Centauri: The amusing thing about this, it's all a big mistake. That particular Starfighter game was supposed to be delivered to Vegas, not some fleaspeck trailer park in the middle of tumbleweeds and tarantulas. So it must be fate, destiny, blind chance, luck even, that brings us together. And as the poet said, the rest is history.
http://www.DustyThomasOnline.com Dusty

I am right with you Ian... enjoyed the first one... I watch it right along with my "Flight of the Navigator" on the mid-sunday morning crap cable television channels. My son has seen many of them too.. so I will have to drag him to this... well not sure I will do that.. but have at least give it a little bit of my attention from time to time to see if it is going to become anything of interest. *******I told you, Alex! Me and my, how did you put it, "strange sexual urges" aren't talking to you anymore! ***** How can you not like a movie with lines like that.. hahahha
Billy

Alex : You mean they're *dead*? Grig: Death is a primitive concept. I prefer to think of them as battling evil, in another dimension.
avoidz

A bizarre choice for a sequel, for sure. I'm a mild fan of the original (I, too, spent lunch money in the arcades). It's just gonna make me feel old and depressed seeing a 48-year-old Lance Guest and (possibly) a 49-year-old Catherine Mary Stewart... See if you have "the gift"; download and play The Last Starfighter game: http://www.roguesynapse.com/games/last_starfighter.php
http://cancerdayofaction.com groovearchive

This is the movie of my youth. My dad bought a bootleg on VHS when we were still renting a machine from the local shop. I wore that puppy. "Greetings starfighter, you have been recruited by the star leagues to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Kodan Armada" Tingles...
Alyssa

I would have prefered Starfighter went the way of TV series and continued right where the movie left off.
Aneudi

Xur did escape and they had to train future starfighters. The Last Starfighter was one of the earliest films to make extensive use of computer graphics. This movie deserves a digital upgrade into the 21st century.
http://bradstinyworld.com Brad Hart

I am sad and scared both about a last starfighter sequel.
Mark

Nice! I've been waiting for a Last Starfighter sequel for years! The first one is a classic and with Nick Castle on board with Lance Guest I can't see that it will suck!
PB

The Last Starfighter is a classic and one of my favorites growing up and still to this day. The nostalgia and the time.... When we were young...:) hmff. I would like to see a sequel but like all sacred movies it has to be done with extreme caution. Don't ruin it, don't take away from it, don't change the atmosphere too much or you'll take away everything that should be in a sequel like this. Keep the music.... and add some thats similar but plz plz don't ruin it, and make sure the original director/producer are doin. It's difficult to capture this kind of classicness*
Cemac

The age of the original doesn't matter. Every cashed up Gen-xer that ever saw this movie will line up for a modern day sequel. With Nick Castle at the helm how could the movie go wrong (Two words "Major Payne").
Brandon Niehaus

this movie is pretty good but yes...i think that The Last Starfighter needs to be modernized to some degree. the battlescene graphics are kinda shitty in this movie compared to star wars; which had 10X more realistic graphics and came out almost a decade earlier. overall, good 80's sci-fi movie so 3/5 rating at best. im curious to see if there really is a sequel being produced, and whether it will be good or not.
xpnctoc

I'm excited and nervous at this news. The original movie was a great story, filmed at a time when movies focused on THE STORY. Now days there's so much CRAP that's put out just because the production company hired a couple people who can push buttons on a computer to generate "cool effects". If the sequel focuses on the story, it should be good. If it focuses on making up for what the original lacked in effects, it'll probably be a flop. As for all these people who have commented that having Lance Guest on board automatically means the sequel will be good... What are you people smoking? You've never seen a good actor get roped into doing a p.o.s. movie???
les Launer

So far, no one has stated the most obvious difficulty facing a sequel to The Last Starfighter: Who could possible play the role of Centauri?!?!?!? Robert Preston OWNED that role. He was one of the key reasons that movie was so great. Also, does anyone know if actor Greg O' Herlihey is still alive(Grig, the navigator)? If these roles can be faithfully represented, I believe that a sequel could be fantastic. I would love to see Gunstars generated by current digital effects wizardry. As digital effects owe their existence to The Last Starfighter, and of course, TRON, it's nice to see these stories are getting the treatment they both deserve and way overdue sequels.
SpaceManSpiff

Two words.... "We Die" A relaunch of the LSF would be number two for me 2009 (assuming it is released in 2009), second only behind the new Star Trek. Go Cintauri!!!
2nafist

Did Chris Columbus stay home? Nooooo. What if the Wright Brothers thought that only birds should fly? And did Galoka think that the Ulus were too ugly to save?
DJ Resurrection

I grew up on The Last Starfighter, watch it every weekend, if not every other day. Only problem I have with a sequel is our dear broadway superstar Robert Preston has passed away, and Centari cannot be matched to Robert Prestons astonishing and well played roll.
Bill

If anything, I would've thought they were going to do a story about Louis Rogan, Alex's kid brother. That's what the setup was at the end of the original movie.
Jrobles

I don't know about a sequel, but Last Starfighter should be done as a CG Animated series, (Like Star Wars the Clone Wars and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers.)
Sean

I can,t wait for this movie to be released. I just bought the orig on blu Ray. what a great film this is. I hope the second one actuly dose come to pass. This will be a move to go see with the Kids. I first saw it when I was 12 back in the 1980,s.