The Last Starfighter is Hollywood’s white whale. The 1984 film about a young man who is recruited to defend a planet because of his video game skills was decades ahead of its time and, in recent years, has been the frequent subject of speculation and excitement. It seems everyone in Hollywood has attempted to bring the story back to life and there’s even been talk, and development, of a possible sequel that would do just that.
Now, we can add another duo to the list of people who aren’t just fans of The Last Starfighter, but who would potentially be interested in doing something with the project. Recently, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stars Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell sat down with io9 and were asked if there were any films or properties they’d like to remake. The answer is in the below video, along with some very fun back-and-forth between father and son.
And now we’re just going to talk about “Overboard in space.” (Not really, but that was quite funny.)
It’s also really fun just to see these two randomly bring up and discuss this 1984 movie that most people have long since forgotten. What you see here though is that even people who have forgotten about it still feel it in their bones. That’s why so many have tried to remake it, to no avail, and why several people are trying to bring the series back. Which, up to now, has also not happened.
Maybe the powers that be just need to see the Russell family geek out a bit to be like “Hey, let’s bring this back to the big screen. And maybe we’ll call Kurt and Wyatt while we’re at it.”
Their show, Monarch, is now streaming on Apple TV+. The Last Starfighter is available to rent or buy.
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