We all know Buck Rogers from the two-season NBC live-action series. It starred Gil Gerard, while Erin Gray made an impression on a generation of dads and teenage boys in a time before the internet and Baywatch. Light entertainment soft-titillation was the thing back then. See: Charlie’s Angels for more information.
The TV show pilot was given an extended theatrical release, as per Battlestar Galactica.
The character was originally created in the 1920s. He was a World War 1 veteran working as a surveyor in an abandoned mine near Pittsburgh. A strange gas preserves him in a form of suspended animation after a roof collapse.
He awakens and emerges from the mine in 2429 AD, in the midst of another war.
After rescuing future freedom fighter Wilma Deering from attackers armed with anti-gravity belts and rocket guns, he proves his identity by showing her his American Legion button. She then explains how the Red Mongols emerged from the Gobi desert to conquer Asia and Europe, and then attacked America, starting with that “big idol holding a torch” – the Statue of Liberty.
Using their disintegrator beams, the Mongols easily defeated the army and navy and wiped out Washington, D.C., in three hours. The people have fled the cities, but the scattered Americans have begun to fight back in what has been dubbed the Second War of Independence.
Flash Gordon was created in response to the character. He was also the inspiration for Looney Tunes’ Duck Dodgers.
George Clooney was once attached, and Brad Pitt was also rumored, but this project has been in some form of development for more than 20 years. Legendary announced plans for a franchise that would span a feature film, a live-action series, and anime series back in 2020, but now it appears that only a movie is planned.
According to The Wrap, coming onboard is Deadpool & Wolverine co-writer and Marvel Zombies creator Zeb Wells to drive the project forward.
