Joe Johnston’s adaptation of The Rocketeer celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, and Disney was clearly paying attention, with the studio reportedly planning to remake the comic-book adventure for a new audience.
Vulture reports that Alan Horn, the new studio head of the Mouse House, is keen to revive the venerable property, and is currently listening to pitches from writers in order to decide how best to approach the project.
The original film told the story of stunt pilot Cliff Secord, who discovers a secret prototype for a rocket-powered backpack. Naturally, being an upstanding citizen, he uses the prototype to fight the Nazis, as any right-thinking person would.
Starring Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly and Alan Arkin, the original is beloved by fans of the comic book for its faithfulness to the source material, and cheerfully un-cynical take on super-powered heroism.
What with Disney’s existing tie-up with Marvel, it would be interesting to see how it would approach the property today. Perhaps Secord could team up with Captain America in the ongoing battle against fascism? Just a thought…