Classic Sci-Fi Hero With 97 Years of History Set for a Big-Screen Reboot That Could Rival Star Wars

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It is practically inarguable that no franchise has dominated science fiction with more authority and widespread influence in the last half-century than Star Wars. Of course, it should be acknowledged that George Lucas' ideas for his galaxy far, far away did not come to him from out of nowhere, as he clearly took inspiration from cosmic stories of the past, such as the adventures of Buck Rogers.

Well, it appears that the out-of-time hero is about to reclaim his place in sci-fi history in a new cinematic reboot coming from Legendary Pictures. According to Deadline, the studio, which secured the rights to a Buck Rogers movie five years earlier, has tapped Zeb Wells, a Marvel Comics writer who also helped pen the 2024 box office hit, Deadpool & Wolverine, to write the next chapter in the character's nearly century-long history.

Deadline's report also mentions that the upcoming Buck Rogers movie is part of Legendary's plan to revive the character as the star of his own live-action TV show and an anime series as well. At one time, in 2021, George Clooney signed on to play Buck Rogers in a series that the Oscar winner would also produce in partnership with the studio. However, no subsequent updates to that particular project have come out since, so there is no confirmation of whether Clooney is still set to be the new Rogers in this upcoming film.

Buck Rogers' origins date back to 1929, when he first appeared in the futuristic novella Armageddon – 2419 A.D., which was published in Amazing Stories. Created by Philip Francis Nowlan, the character was originally depicted as a World War I veteran who accidentally inhales radioactive gas, placing him in suspended animation, and finds himself in the 25th Century, where he uses his skills as a soldier to take on more bizarre threats. His adventures would quickly inspire similar pulp comic heroes like Flash Gordon.

Buck Rogers Has Had Previous On-Screen Adventures

Gil Gerard in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

While his name may not be quite as familiar to modern mainstream audiences, Buck Rogers has still led one of the most remarkably enduring legacies of any comic book character, due in part to his existence in various adaptations of Philip Francis Nowlan's out-of-this-world adventure stories that span multiple forms of media. The character made his first venture beyond the comic book page as the star of his own radio show, which premiered in 1932, before becoming acquainted with visual storytelling.

Buck Rogers was first portrayed onscreen by John Dille Jr. in a 10-minute film that premiered at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago and, six years later, Universal produced a 12-part serial starring Buster Crabbe as a version of the hero forced to crash a zeppelin into Arctic waste, where he is awakened five centuries later. The character would make his television debut in a series simply called Buck Rogers, which lasted 36 episodes from 1950 and 1951, during which three different actors were consecutively cast in the title role.

The most well-known and the most recent adaptation of the comic book character is the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, starring Gil Gerard as the eponymous hero, this time a NASA pilot accidentally sent adrift and frozen in outer space for 500 years. Gerard first played the character in a feature film that became enough of a hit during its theatrical run in 1979 to be followed by the weekly program, which was produced by original Battlestar Galactica creator Glen A. Larson and lasted two seasons.

Legendary's Buck Rogers reboot does not have a set theatrical release date.

Release Date 1979 - 1980

Directors Larry Stewart, Daniel Haller, Vincent McEveety, Sigmund Neufeld Jr., David G. Phinney, Dick Lowry, Michael Caffey, Jack Arnold, Philip Leacock, Barry Crane, Victor French, John Patterson, Leslie H. Martinson, Bernard McEveety, Guy Magar, David Moessinger

Writers Alan Brennert, Esther Mitchell, Bob Mitchell, Stephen McPherson, Allan Cole, Francis Moss, Leslie Stevens, Norman Hudis, Paul Schneider, Margaret Schneider, Aubrey Solomon, Steve Greenberg, David Bennett Carren, Kathleen Barnes, Bill Taylor, David Wise, Craig Buck, D.C. Fontana, Calvin Clements Jr., Jaron Summers, Richard Fontana, Martin Pasko