The creator of this beloved ’80s film turned down Steven Spielberg and Seth Rogen’s remake pitch

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The creator of this beloved ’80s film turned down Steven Spielberg and Seth Rogen’s remake pitch

The Last Starfighter is a beloved 1980s classic, a fun sci-fi adventure that draws heavily on the popularity of arcade games and emerging use of infographics for its special effects, to create and bring something unique to cinemas. It was a modest success upon release and earned that coveted award cult classic status since then. Oddly, it’s a film that has never seen a sequel or remake… but not for lack of effort. Even Hollywood heavyweights Steven Spielberg was refused by the screenwriter of the film, Jonathan R. Magnificentone of many that the writer rejected.

“The Last Starfighter” is preparing a sequel

As Betuel himself explainsthe inspiration for The Last Starfighter is twofold. On the one hand, he was fascinated by watching a young boy play a video game in an arcade, a pastime familiar to any child of the ’80s. On the other hand, he was reading “The Once and Future King,” a novel based on the legend of King Arthur. He envisioned the film as a modern update of the latter, with a video game serving as a metaphorical “sword in the stone”, with its Arthur, a high-scoring boy, serving to prepare him for a higher calling as a member of an alien defense corps in an intergalactic war.

Of course, this vision became The Last Starfightera film that follows a teenager named Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), who gets the highest score in the titular arcade game. The arcade game is one of many games spread across the universe, a secret simulation test to find the best warriors to pilot the Gunstar spaceship and defend the peaceful Rylan Star League against the evil Ko-Dan Empire.. He is approached by Centauri (Robert Preston), an alien in disguise, and agrees to accompany him. In an effort to prevent his absence from being discovered, Centauri leaves behind Beta (also a guest), an android lookalike. As Beta replaces Alex on Earth, Alex is introduced to his partner, Grig (Dan O’Herlihy), a reptilian alien who will serve as the “Navigator”, the pilot of their Gunstar ship, while Alex will serve as the “Starfighter”, the gunner.

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The emotional space battle scenes, the interactions between Alex, Centauri and Grig, and the often hilarious scenes of Beta doing her best to mimic Alex’s behaviors have been enhanced. The Last Starfighter above typical entries of the genre at the time, such as those from 1983 Space Raiders. And at the end of the film, Alex, proclaimed savior of Rylos, stops on Earth with Grig and Centauri in their Gunstar, landing in the trailer park that Alex calls home. He says goodbye to his family, choosing to return to Rylos and help rebuild the Starfighter Legion. He is accompanied by his girlfriend, Maggie (Catherine Mary Stewart), who accepts his invitation to join him. As the ship takes off, Alex’s brother Louis (Chris Hebert) runs for the Starfighter game, looking to master the game and join his brother. It’s an easy setup for a sequel, with the Rogan brothers reuniting later to face a bigger threat..

Jonathan Betuel says no to Steven Spielberg and Seth Rogen remaking ‘The Last Starfighter’

So why doesn’t was there a sequel, or even a remake using today’s cutting edge effects? It’s complicated. In 2015, a retrospective from the film by Jordan Zakarin revealed the fight between two different studios over the rights to the film. Universal Pictures distributed the film, but did not TO DO the movie. The studio that made the film was Lorimar Productions, and in 1989, Lorimar was purchased by powerful rival Warner Bros. Gary Whitta summarizes the problem, in the text cited previously Collidersaying that every time the conversation turns to The last starfighter, leaders raise their hands saying, “We’ve looked into it – there’s no way to get the rights; we don’t understand but we can’t get them. »

But the biggest complication when it comes to greenlighting a sequel or remake The Last Starfighter has less to do with studio rights than one might think. By Collider, Seth Rogen had initially tried to obtain the rights, before giving up after being refused several times. But Rogen, no offense, is no Spielberg, and if anyone had the nerve and influence to fight for the film rights, it would be him. It would be not be him, with Rogen revealing on a Twitter feed“Spielberg himself told me he couldn’t get the rights after I told him how long I’d tried.” But it’s not Universal or Warner Bros. who said no to the iconic director, but rather the writer himself, Jonathan R. Betuel.. Apparently, Beutel vetoed the sale of the rights to Spielberg and, most likely, Rogen as well, choosing to move forward with his own plans for a possible continuation. This wouldn’t be the only time Spielberg has been denied the continuation of a film project, with his interest in making A James Bond blocked by Bind producer Cubic broccoliwho simply replied “No”.

Betuel, of course, has every right to do so, and it’s almost refreshing to see someone so stubbornly sticking to his own creation despite the interest of big-name filmmakers like Spielberg and Rogen. But this raises the question of whether The Last Starfighter should even be remade or have a sequel. The answer, as Betuel told Spielberg, is probably no. The Last Starfighter works because it is intrinsically linked to the 1980s, when video arcades dominated the landscape. There was this fantastical element, that playing a video game had the potential to open the door to something exciting. This is something that doesn’t work today, when video games are so advanced and realistic that there’s nothing magical about them. It makes sense that you can apply your PS5 skills to real life, and The Last Starfighter does not work without this element. It’s the same as a movie like War gameswhere a kid hacking a US military supercomputer was still amazing in the 1980s, but less so when anyone with an iPhone has the potential to do the same. Betuel may have said no to Steven Spielberg, but he gave a resounding yes to artistic integrityand that still means something.

The Last Starfighter is available for rental or purchase on VOD services.