After helping Marvel Studios bank over $1.3 billion with the money-printing threequel Deadpool & Wolverine, screenwriter Zeb Wells is taking to the stars for Legendary‘s adaptation of Buck Rogers!
According to The Wrap‘s exclusive report, the project is based on the “Armageddon 2419 A.D.” novella by Philip Francis Nowlan that introduced the Buck Rogers character in 1928. The story centers on a coal mine inspector who awakens from suspended animation after 500 years to find himself in the middle of a planetary war.
Meanwhile, Deadline reports that there are significant plans for Buck Rogers, with the studio reportedly eyeing a transmedia franchise that would include a feature film, a live-action series, and an anime series. For the moment, there are no concrete plans to bring the character to television screens.
Introduced as a World War I veteran who ends up in suspended animation for roughly five centuries after a Pennsylvania coalmine collapse and inhaling radioactive gas. Buck Rogers awakens in the 25th Century to find himself at war with foreign invaders.
After his debut in Amazing Stories, Buck Rogers took his adventures to newspapers with Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D. Serials for radio and film followed the strip, which led to the hero getting a serial in 1939 from Universal, starring Buster Crabbe, followed by NBC’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The buck didn’t stop there! Hey-o! The intergalactic man also appeared in a series of comic books, novels, and merchandising tie-ins.
Legendary is riding high after releasing A Minecraft Movie to the tune of $957 million worldwide against a $150 million budget. Not to say that Buck Rogers holds the same appeal, but if the studio can capture even a fraction of the Minecraft magic with its Buck Rogers adaptation, the sci-fi franchise could make literal billions.
Personally, I’m eager to see the marketing for this project. I bet it’ll read something like: FROM THE STUDIO THAT BROUGHT YOU A MINECRAFT MOVIE, AND FROM THE WRITER OF DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, COMES AN INTERGALACTIC ADVENTURE LIKE NEVER BEFORE. BUCK ROGERS IS BACK, BABY! I doubt they’ll say “Baby,” but it felt right in the moment.
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