There’s been talk of a fresh take on The Rocketeer for years now, but it appears as if it’s finally going to happen. According to a new report, The Rocketeers is in the early stages of development at Disney, but they’re looking for a black female lead to take on the title role.
In the 1991 original, Jennifer Connelly was the female lead, but Billy Campbell was in the suit. In this take, the character will actually take over the mantle for Cliff Secord (a.ka. The Rocketeer) roughly six years after he was last seen heading into battle against the Nazis.
The Wrap goes on to add that, “The new story is centred around a young African-American female pilot who tries to stop an evil rocket scientist from stealing jetpack technology during a pivotal moment in the Cold War.” Newcomers Max Winkler and Matthew Spicer are writing the screenplay, but there’s no word on who exactly is being eyed to take the helm right now.
This is a certainly an interesting sounding take on the property and it sounds like it will be equal parts reboot and sequel (which is a little odd, but not exactly unheard of these days).
Assuming things go well with The Rocketeer’s script, expect to hear more updates soon!
