Robert Rodriguez has lucked out big time since stepping in as a last minute replacement to direct an episode of The Mandalorian‘s second season as a favor to his longtime close friend Jon Favreau.
“The Tragedy” came in for high praise from fans and critics alike, with arguably the most-action packed episode of the Star Wars show yet leading to Rodriguez becoming an executive producer on The Book of Boba Fett, and he’s also widely expected to helm at least one installment of the spinoff.
Despite embedding himself in one sci-fi franchise, and still keeping his fingers crossed for another if that Alita: Battle Angel sequel ever comes together, Casper Van Dien has also named the multi-talented filmmaker as his preferred candidate to tackle an episodic Starship Troopers series.
“I would love it if Robert Rodriguez was in the mix. He would be the perfect guy for it. I think that all those directors, it would be fun, to have them come in and do an episode or two or three, or an arc, or something like that. I think it would be fun if we had that kind of thing where it’s real filmmakers making the thing. That would be my goal.”
Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 blockbuster may have bombed at the box office in 1997 after just about scraping past $120 million on a $105 million budget, but it’s since become a firm cult classic. The militarized extraterrestrial actioner has been completely reevaluated by modern audiences, who now widely accept it as the smart and razor sharp satire that it was always intended to be.
There’s been plenty of speculation over the years that Starship Troopers could be getting a reboot of some kind, whether it be wiping the slate clean for a new feature film or bringing back several of the legacy players for a TV show. Writer Ed Neumeier would love for it to happen, and clearly so would Van Dien, but it remains to be seen if rights holders Sony will be willing to take the plunge given the niche appeal of the property and the high costs involved in bringing its world to life.
