Sylvie’s Love’ filmmaker Eugene Ashe to write ‘Rocketeer’ Reboot for Disney+ with David Oyelowo to star & produce
The Wrap is reporting that “Sylvie’s Love” filmmaker Eugene Ashe has been tapped to write “The Rocketeer” reboot at Disney+ with David Oyelowo is attached to star and produce the project.
Released in 1991, the original film was directed by Joe Johnson and starred Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin and Timothy Dalton. With a domestic gross of $46M at the box office, it was considered a failure before DVD sales and TV viewings made it a cult classic.
“The Rockeeter” is based on the comic book character of the same name created by comic book artist and writer Dave Stevens, who first appeared as a back-up story in the pages of “Starslayer” in 1982. The character then starred in his own title, saving his Betty Page-ish girlfriend from villains and uncovering sinister plots.
Set in 1938 Los Angeles, the original Disney film followed Cliff Secord (Campbell), a young stunt pilot who stumbles upon a prototype jetpack. Secord straps on the rocket and becomes the high-flying hero known as The Rocketeer. However, when Nazis and other villains become interested in the rocket pack, Secord must use his new powers to protect his loved ones (including his struggling actress girlfriend, played by Connelly) and save the day.
Oyelowo assures fans of 1991’s “The Rocketeer” that the sequel is in good hands. “In our film, he’s going to be an ex-Tuskegee airman, so it’s still in that 1940s milieu,” Oyelowo told TheWrap last year. “We know we have to adhere to the things that people loved about the first one. But that was 30 years ago, so we want to make a film that’s going to resonate for the next 30 years and especially for the now. That’s the needle we have to thread and we’re working hard to do so.”
The reboot will be produced by David and Jessica Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon Productions banner. The project is part of his and his wife’s two-year first-look deal with Disney. Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil’s Mortal Media are the executive producers.
In 2020, Ashe broke out with his second feature film, “Sylvie’s Love,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and starred Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Ryan Michelle Bathe, and Regé-Jean Page.