Sci Fi TV Production Report: Tracking the sci fi and fantasy movies currently moving into development/production based on the listings from Production Weekly. Note that appearing on that list does not guarantee that the film will move forward.
Following are the genre entries of note included in the listings for October 16th and October 30th:
Buck Rogers
One of the greatest action heroes of science fiction will be making a return to the big screen where he has not been seen since 1939. A Buck Rogers movie is currently in the works at Legendary and Deadpool & Wolverine scribe Zack Wells is working on the script. Plot details for the film are not currently available, but this will almost certainly act as a tentpole movie for a major franchise. The character first appeared in the Philip Francis Nowlan novella Armageddon – 2419 A.D. which was published in Amazing Stories in 1929. Known as Anthony “Buck” Rogers in that work, the character was a World War I pilot put in suspended animation by a mysterious gas who wakes up in the 25th century when the “Hans” have conquered the planet. He helps organize the various “gangs” across America who are fighting the “Hans” and this ultimately leads to an all-out rebellion against the tyrants.
Buck Rogers next appeared in a popular comic strip in the 1930s, dropping the Anthony from his name. He would later appear in the 1939 movie serial, which has been his only appearance on the big screen so far. Rogers would continue in radio dramas, books, comics, and his ongoing comic strip into the 1960s. A low-budget TV series was produced in the 1950s and lasted for one season. In 1979, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century would premiere on NBC and last for two seasons, and that is the version most people are familiar with these days. There have been talks of a big screen reboot for years, and that appears to be moving forward seeing as it is now in the Production Weekly listings.
The Jetsons
Meet George Jetson who just may be played in a big screen adaptation by rubber-faced comic Jim Carrey. A live-action film reboot of the property is in the works at Warner Bros., and Carrey is currently in talks to take the lead role. The original animated series debuted on ABC in 1962, and it followed George Jetson and his family living in the skyways of a high tech world where most mundane activities are automated or handled by robots. No plot info has been released yet, but Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) is in talks to direct and he will pen the script with Joe Epstein.
The original series ran for one season and then went into reruns (mostly on Saturday mornings) for years where it grew in popularity. Two more seasons were produced in the mid-80s, and there have been talks of reboots/revivals for years, including a live-action television series with Robert Zemeckis. It now looks like the property is headed to the big screen as it joined the Production Weekly listing on October 16th.
The Sci Fi TV Production Report is available at CancelledSciFi.com
