Actor and producer David Oyelowo reveals what happened with his planned reboot ofThe Rocketeer,and it certainly doesn’t look good for Disney.The Rocketeerwas created in 1982 as a throwback to old pulp heroes of the 1940s in a property that seemed tailor-made for film. Disney quickly purchased the rights and released the feature film adaptation in 1991. Despite having a cult fanbase, the movie was a box office disappointment. Fans were given hope when Oyelowo, the actor best known for his work inSelmaandGovernment Cheese, signed on in 2021 to star and produce a sequel/reboot titledReturn of the Rocketeer. Despite Disney seemingly being enthusiastic about the property just four years ago, no news has come out, and it appears the studio might have made the announcement more for optics.
Speaking with The Los Angeles Times, Oyelowo reveals that the struggles include his reboot ofThe Rocketeerand the Netflix adaptation of Tọlá Okogwu’sOnyeka and the Academy of the Sunbooks. He hints at “performative DEI,” attempts by major studios to gain goodwill among consumers following the death of George Floyd in 2020, but they seem not to have been willing to back up those announcements. With Donald Trump’s new government administration seemingly attacking DEI initiatives, Oyelowo weighed in on how it impacts him as a creative, saying, “Attack on DEI or not, we’ve been doing it before there was all this energy around it, and we will be doing it after.” RegardingThe Rocketeer, Oyelowo said:
“We gained traction with that project [Onyeka] in the wake of the George Floyd murder and in a moment where there was a cultural correction and people seemed to want to do better. But now we’re in a moment where it’s evident that a lot of that was performative and not bone-deep. Projects like that suddenly become challenged.Onyekabeing one,Return Of The Rocketeerat Disney being another.”
‘Return of the Rocketeer’s Troubled History
DespiteThe Rocketeerbeing a box office disappointment for Disney in the 1990s, they have been trying to relaunch the franchise for years. In 2016, it was reported that they wanted to do a sequel set six years after the first film and focus on a black female pilot. In 2019, a Disney Junior continuation series titledThe Rocketeeraired, aimed at preschool and kindergarten audiences. In 2020, J.D. Dillard was announced as the director of the film reboot. In August 2021, it was confirmed that the film would be titledReturn of the Rocketeer, withOyelowo set to star and produce the film for Disney+. However, by 2022, Dillard had departed the project, and four years after the announcement, no news has been released aboutThe Rocketeersequel or reboot.
Why Now Is The Time For The Rocketeer Sequel
The 1991 original was a near box office bomb - but there are good reasons for believing a follow-up will fare better.
While Disney certainly made a name and image for themselves as being the “progressive” studio, they are often mockedfor the amount of times they had the first openly queer character in one of their films,which almost always amounts to nothing. The studio’s public image has shifted significantly following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election. Episodes ofMoon Girl and Devil DinosaurandWin or Losewere removed and never aired due to them featuring transgender characters and storylines in a move oneformer employee described as “100% political.“The studio has also been accused of casting people of color in high-profile roles but not doing anything to speak out and protect them from racist, hateful comments, as seen with Rachel Zegler onSnow White, Kelly Marie Tran inThe Last Jedi, and many of the cast members ofThe Acolyte.
While some might sayReturn of the Rocketeeris being delayed or put on hold due to it being initially intended for Disney+,Return of the Rocketeermakes as much sense for a feature film as athird attempt at makingTroninto a franchise, despite the two previous films’ disappointing box office. Given the Trump administration’s attack on DEI initiatives and various individuals using it as a boogeyman-type buzzword, coupled with some of Disney’s recent actions and Oyelowo’s comments, it not only seems plausible but sadly accurate. Disney made a big splashy announcement to grab attention, but now that they have to back this newRocketeerproject, they seem scared in the current political climate, fearing accusations of being overly critical and “woke.”
Source:The Los Angeles Times
The Rocketeer
