For the last few years, a follow-up to 2000’s cult sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest has been in the works. A cinematic sequel was on the cards for a while until the sad passing of original star Alan Rickman led to the direction of the franchise being rethought. Last year, plans for a TV series got off the ground, with comedian and screenwriter Paul Scheer being hired as showrunner.
If you’re wondering why we haven’t heard anything more on the project since 2017, though, Scheer has now revealed the reason during an interview with The Wrap. The writer admitted that the Galaxy Quest show’s currently on hold due to a managerial problem, as Paramount TV head Amy Powell has been fired due to some alleged offensive comments.
“We currently are in a little bit of a hold pattern because our executive at Paramount, Amy Powell, was fired for some insensitive comments.”
But what will the Galaxy Quest TV series be like once it finally gets going? Well, Scheer went on to explain that his approach to the show can be compared to how The Force Awakens breathed new life into the Star Wars saga. Essentially, it’ll blend elements introduced in the movie with fresh characters and plots.
“We want to create this kind of thing that feels like this epic sequel, but a continuation. I compared it to what The Force Awakens is to Star Wars. It is continuing a story but bringing in new characters. My pitch for Galaxy Quest was, ‘How can we kind of blow this out and pay off things for the fans that love Galaxy Quest, but more importantly — and the thing that I really wanted to do is — appeal to the ‘me’ of now. Who’s the 18-year-old version of me that loved Galaxy Quest now? What would they want to see? Because I think that that is a movie that we haven’t really made yet: the Tropic Thunder in the world of modern-day science fiction.
As for why more from GQ is necessary, Scheer says that it makes sense to bring it back because sci-fi fandom is now so widespread and mainstream, as opposed to how niche it was back at the turn of the century.
“When Galaxy Quest came out, it was a niche thing, Star Trek fandom is a niche thing. Now it is selling out Hall H in Comic-Con, so that’s kind of the impetus for the continuation.”
Scheer continued by promising that at least some of the original multi-talented cast – including Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Sam Rockwell – will return in the show. This is part of his mandate to make sure he’s not just rebooting Galaxy Quest for the sake of it.
“So it is mixing two casts. It’s separate kind of adventures that kind of merge, and I’m looking at this first season not as episodic, but as a serialized story. So, the only way I’ve been looking at it is, using everything from the first movie and making the reasons for everything not just – I want to avoid anything that could be viewed as a reboot for reboot’s sake. There are real reasons behind these choices – maybe too much so.”
The showrunner didn’t say when we can expect to see the ball rolling again on Galaxy Quest‘s TV sequel, but hopefully the power vacuum at Paramount will be sorted out soon and it’ll finally enter production. Otherwise, by Grabthar’s hammer, it shall be avenged.