Okay, so maybe we'll never get to see Galaxy Quest 2, but by Grabthar's Hammer… it will be avenged.
Galaxy Quest is a rare breed of cult classic sci-fi comedy, one that still holds up more
than twenty years after its release. David Mamet, for instance, famously included it alongside The
Godfather and A Place in the Sun as one of the only flawless movies in existence. Even the most
obvious targets of its biting satire hold the film in high esteem — George Takei once
called it "a powerful piece of documentary filmmaking," and Patrick Stewart claimed,
"No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did."
[Laughter]
While the film didn't quite set any box office records, earning around $90 million on a $45
million budget, it spent the next couple of decades picking up momentum, becoming a staple
in every nerd's Blu-ray collection. Considering that Hollywood has developed a perma-crush on
nostalgia-based sequels, Galaxy Quest seems like prime real estate for a reboot, remake,
or re-something. Asked by MTV News whether or not they'd come back for another round,
Sigourney Weaver pointed out that she still has her costume, while Sam Rockwell simply said:
"F--- yeah."
Even Tim Allen was pitching story ideas.
"Your commander is on deck!"
So why haven't we been back to the NSEA Protector since 1999? The answer, sadly,
is that we've come close more than once, but a confluence of bad luck
has kept Galaxy Quest 2 from reaching our screens. Here's how it went down.
By 2015, Galaxy Quest had firmly cemented its place in popular culture, and interested
parties started priming the pump for another go 'round. The idea was actually to create a
streaming series as a follow-up to the original film. It was reported at the time that Amazon
Studios had begun development on the project in conjunction with Paramount. The show was even
greenlit directly to series, suggesting that it was, at one point, a sure thing.
"By Grabthar's Hammer… What a savings."
These plans were short-lived, however, as, in January of 2016, Galaxy Quest star Alan
Rickman died at age 69 from pancreatic cancer. Sam Rockwell saw this, along with Tim Allen's
difficult-to-parse availability, as a death knell for the project. Then, in 2017, Deadline reported
that Amazon was still developing the series, with Paul Scheer on board as head writer.
"The show must go on." "...Damn you."
This incarnation was paused for what was initially supposed to be a year,
reportedly the result of Paramount TV president Amy Powell's exit from her post. Word of a
potential sequel eventually resurfaced in January of 2021, when Tim Allen stated that
a new entry in the series was effectively in limbo. He told Entertainment Weekly:
"We talk about it all the time. There is constantly a
little flicker of a butane torch that we could reboot it with."
Translation:
"Never give up. Never surrender."
On April 18th, 2023, Paramount Plus announced that a new Galaxy Quest TV series is currently in the
works for the streaming service. However, it has yet to be confirmed whether this new show will
reboot the original film's story or serve as a long-awaited sequel to the landmark sci-fi comedy.
Currently, the only name attached to this new version of Galaxy Quest is Mark Johnson,
who worked as a producer on the prior film, and will likewise produce this upcoming
project. For what it's worth, Tim Allen told ComicBook.com about a Galaxy Quest 2 script
he believed could still see the light of day as recently as November of 2022. Nevertheless,
with details on this new show so scarce, it remains unclear if Paramount Plus is finally
realizing Allen's vision for a sequel, or taking the franchise in a different direction entirely.