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WIRE Buzz: Galaxy Quest sequel hopes; Pandemic thriller 'Safe at Home' sets release; and Edge of Tomorrow
By Grabthar's Hammer! A potential sequel to 1999's Galaxy Quest isn't giving up and it sure as hell isn't surrendering.
Recently chatting with Entertainment Weekly, actor Tim Allen (who played the self-centered Jason Nesmith in the beloved sci-fi classic) confirmed that a follow-up script does exist, describing it as "fabulous." The project might have been made by now, had it not been for the unfortunate passing of Alan Rickman ("Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus") in 2016.
"So it all got very sad and dark because [the script] was all about [Lazrus] and Taggart. It was all about their story. It doesn't mean they can't reboot the idea, and the underlying story was hysterical and fun," Allen continued. "I haven't reached out to anybody in the last week, but we talk about it all the time. There is constantly a little flicker of a butane torch that we could reboot it with. Without giving too much away, a member of Alan's Galaxy Quest family could step in and the idea would still work."
Allen went on to tease certain elements of the sequel script, which allegedly explores the concepts of light-speed space travel time dilation.
"[The sequel] could happen now or in five years and it doesn't matter at all because when you travel at light speed, when you come back it can be like only 20 minutes, but 20 years have passed, right?" Allen explained. "That part is wonderful for the sci-fi freak in me. But right now it's in a holding pattern."
Last spring, Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot revealed that an Amazon series based on the movie almost happened, but was forced to be put on hold after Rickman died.
Considered a cult classic, the movie centered around a group of washed-up actors who once starred in a beloved, Star Trek-esque TV show. Tired of fan conventions and signings, the squabbling and dysfunctional cast members are thrown for a loop when real aliens come asking for their help in defeating an intergalactic warlord. Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Justin Long, and even a young Rainn Wilson appeared alongside Allen and Rickman.
Voltage Pictures and Vertical Entertainment are the latest production companies to take a stab at a film that reflects the era of COVID-19 and social distancing.
Both parties are joining forces for Safer at Home, a pandemic thriller molded in the same vein as the Michael Bay-produced Songbird. The story takes place in the year 2022 when the chaos caused by the novel coronavirus has turned Los Angeles into a draconian police state To escape the grim nature of reality, a group of friends gather virtually for an online party of music, drinking, games, and a hit of what they think is MDMA (aka "molly"). As the drug starts to kick in, "things go terribly wrong and the safety of their home becomes more terrifying than the raging chaos outside," reads the official synopsis.
Will Wernick (Escape Room) directed the film from a script he co-wrote with Lia Bozonelis (Sorry Not Sorry). The pair of them conceived of the central story with John Ierardi (Obscurity). Per the release, the project was "was one of the first projects to go safely into production during the COVID-19 pandemic." Alisa Allapach (Kingdom), Adwin Brown (You), Jocelyn Hudon (The Order), Dan J. Johnson, (Chicago Fire) Michael Kupisk (Henry Danger), Emma Lahana (Cloak & Dagger), and Daniel Robaire (In Development) make up the core cast.
“Follow Me [it was retitled to No Escape] was a strong success for many of our international partners, so when the chance came to partner with Will for the third time was a no brainer,” Vertical Entertainment President/COO and executive producer Jonathan Deckter said in a statement. "He’s created a whip-smart, edge of your seat thriller that will speak to audiences worldwide, as they simultaneously experience the varying stages of the pandemic."
“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Will and Voltage this year following the domestic success of No Escape (AKA Follow Me),” added Vertical co-president Rich Goldberg. “Safer at Home provides exciting twists and turns at every moment and we can’t wait to share it with US audiences.”
The movie will be released sometime next month.
The prospect of us getting another Edge of Tomorrow movie rests firmly in the hands of Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.
"It's one of these things where if Tom, Emily and I were to say, 'We're ready to pull the trigger on this script,' it's Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, the film gets made," returning director Doug Liman said during an interview with Collider. "That's pretty much how Hollywood works. The stars are the gatekeepers. If you can get Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt to commit to the movie, it's going to happen."
A second installment for the Live Die Repeat universe entered active development at Warner Bros. in early March of 2019. Since that time, however, there haven't been many updates and it's not hard to see why. Both Cruise and Blunt are some of the hottest actors in Hollywood and have been busy with other blockbuster projects like Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible 7, Jungle Cruise, and A Quiet Place Part II.
On the bright side, Cruise and Blunt's packed schedules give the script a little more time in the oven. Matthew Robinson (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) apparently wrote the latest draft, working off an earlier version from original co-writer, Jez Butterworth. Even so, Liman, a filmmaker known for "finding" his films during the edit process, told Collider that an unfinished script isn't really a problem, especially since the original didn't have a finished screenplay when it started production either.
“For Live Die Repeat, the script wasn’t there when we started shooting," he recalled. "Tom and I often laugh about this, that during prep on that movie we’d say to ourselves, ‘There’s nothing like a looming start date for the shoot to put pressure down to get the script right.’ And then while we were shooting the movie, we’d say to ourselves, ‘There’s nothing like a looming wrap date to really put pressure down to getting the script done.’ Then when while we’re editing the movie, we’re like, ‘There’s nothing like a looming release date to force you to get the script right.’ These are really big, imaginative movies."
Released in the summer of 2014, Edge of Tomorrow told the story of William Cage, a soldier (Cruise) who finds himself reliving the same day over and over in the middle of a war against an invading alien race. The soldier eventually finds Rita Vrataski (Blunt), another fighter who once shared his time-reversing ability. Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson co-starred. Costing almost $200 million to make, the sci-fi actioner was extremely well-received by critics and brought in a little over $370 million at the worldwide box office.
Liman's next effort is a long-delayed adaptation of Chaos Walking, which Lionsgate hopes to release in March.
