Summary
- Sam Rockwell is interested in reprising his role in a possible Galaxy Quest sequel or limited series.
- A television series based on Galaxy Quest has been attempted before, with Amazon Studios showing interest.
- The death of Alan Rickman in 2016 impacted discussions for a straight-up sequel to the original movie.
The possibility of a Galaxy Quest sequel is something that has been floating in space for some time now. Last year it was revealed that a new iteration of the sci-fi comedy was in development as a series for Paramount+. In a recent interview with GQ, Sam Rockwell, who appeared as part of the ensemble cast of the film, said he would “be on it” if the sequel came to fruition. He said:
It was a really lucky thing, that film. If there was a sequel to Galaxy Quest, we would be on it. We talked about it, maybe like a limited series. Simon Pegg talked about helping with it, actually.
News about a television series based on the beloved 1999 science-fiction comedy reportedly being in development was announced in April 2023, but at the time it was not revealed whether any of the original cast, which included Sigourney Weaver and Tim Allen, would be involved.
Paramount Television Studios were wanting to turn Galaxy Quest from a fictional series into a real one. At the time, only producer Mark Johnson was said to be on board as executive producer, who would also be penning the script for the series. While there have been no updates on the project since, that is most likely due to the WGA strike putting a hold on everything.
Released back in 1999, directed by Dean Parisot, and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon, the original Galaxy Quest follows the alumni cast of a cult space opera television series titled Galaxy Quest who find themselves having to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help. Drawn into a real interstellar conflict by the aliens, who think the series is an accurate documentary, this cast of actors playing heroes must defend both Earth and the alien race from a reptilian warlord.
Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, and the late, great Alan Rickman, Galaxy Quest acts as an affectionate parody of Star Trek, sci-fi, and its fandom. While the movie received positive reviews from critics, Galaxy Quest flew somewhat under the radar upon release, eventually gaining cult status and is now fondly remembered as something of a modern comedy classic.
A Galaxy Quest Series Has Been Attempted Before
This is not the first time that a studio has attempted to adapt Galaxy Quest into a television series. News that Amazon Studios wanted to bring the world of Galaxy Quest to the small screen first broke back in 2017, with actor and comedian Paul Scheer submitting scripts and hoping to create a serialized adventure that would begin where the movie ends. “I really wanted to capture the difference between the original cast of Star Trek and the J. J. Abrams cast of Star Trek,” he said at the time.
A straight-up sequel to Galaxy Quest was also put into early development at one stage. Sadly, the death of Alan Rickman in 2016 largely brought these discussions to an end, especially considering that the plan had been to focus Galaxy Quest 2 on the relationship between Jason Nesmith and Alexander Dane, Tim Allen and Alan Rickman’s characters, respectively.
The last we heard, Succession writer Georgia Pritchett and Star Trek Beyond star Simon Pegg had begun working on the long-gestating Galaxy Quest series. Though, much like this time around, details of the direction and who else would have been involved are a mystery.
The original Galaxy Quest movie can be streamed on Pluto TV, or is available to rent or buy from usual sites.
