Deadpool & Wolverine co-writer Zeb Wells is taking on another classic hero as the new writer of Legendary's Buck Rogers movie (via Deadline). The film has been in development since 2020 with little movement till now.
For those who aren't old enough to remember, Buck Rogers is a sci-fi adventurer who dates all the way back to 1929 when he debuted as the hero of pulp action stories written by Philip Frances Nowlan in the magazine Amazing Adventures.
Buck Rogers is portrayed as a WWI soldier who is trapped in suspended animation by radioactive gas, waking up in the 25th century to lead the charge against an army of invaders. In many ways, he's the precursor to the modern sci-fi hero, with an undeniable influence on the superhero genre as well. And of course, it's one of the direct inspirations for Star Wars.
The character has been adapted into film, radio, comics, and TV since the '30s, including a cult classic revival as an NBC drama, which introduced Buck Rogers and his crew to a whole new generation of fans in the late '70s and early '80s. Legendary now seems to be aiming to repeat that re-introduction with a present day audience.
As for Wells, the screenwriter is also known for his work writing and directing pop culture parody cartoon Robot Chicken, as well as his work at Marvel Comics, most recently an extended run as the writer of Amazing Spider-Man and as one of the writers of this fall's Marvel/DC comic crossover Deadpool/Batman.
Interestingly, famed comic creator Frank Miller was once attached to write and direct a Buck Rogers film around the time he directed 2008's The Spirit, an adaptation of cartoonist Will Eisner's classic pulp hero, but the plug was pulled when The Spirit bombed both at the box office and with critics.
No release date for Buck Rogers has been announced. In the meantime, check out our picks for the 30 best sci-fi movies of all time.
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