Disney has tapped Sylvie’s Love screenwriter Eugene Ashe to write the upcoming reboot of the 1991 adventure film. Rocketeer.
According to TheWrap, Ashe is the latest writer to helm a reboot of the golden-age superhero, with actor David Oyelowo set to produce and star as a Tuskegee Airman who takes up the mantle of the rocket man. Ash will succeed Ed Ricourt, whose previous credits include Now You See Me and episodes of Marvel’s Jessica Jones. The reboot is planned as an exclusive release for Disney+.
The history of “Rocketman”
Created by comic book writer and artist In 1982, for Pacific Comics, Disney acquired the rights to The Rocketeer in the late ’80s as a potential franchise starter akin to Batman and Indiana Jones. Released in 1991 by director Joe Johnston of Captain America: The First Avenger, The Rocketeer is about a 1930s stunt pilot named Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell) who finds a stolen prototype rocket pack created by Howard Hughes. Involving the FBI and a group of Nazis led by movie star Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton), Cliff must protect the rocket while also rescuing his aspiring actress friend Jenny Blake (Jennifer Connelly). Released in the summer of 1991, The Rocketeer was a commercial failure despite positive reviews from critics.
Plans for a reboot of The Rocketeer starring an African-American woman were announced in 2016, with Max Winkler and Matt Spicer attached to write the script under the working title The Rocketeer. Although the project never came to fruition, Disney moved forward with a variation of the concept with the release of The Rocketeer for Disney Junior in 2019. Oyelowo’s reboot, tentatively titled Return of the Rocketman, was announced in 2020 alongside Devotion’s JD. Dillard joined to direct. Dillard left the project in 2022, leaving the director’s chair vacant.
“I’m not in this movie,” Dillard said. “But, you know, it’s difficult. I love, love, love The Rocketeer. It’s a little hard for me now to wrap my head around the return to pre-1970 aviation. You know, I don’t say never. But I think I need a break from the aviation of that time.”
Return of the Rocketman does not have a release date.