For better or worse, one of the most iconic elements of Steven Spielberg’s Hook is mohawked bad boy Rufio. Then-16-year-old Dante Basco played the Lost Boy leader with a chip on his shoulder who gets both a catchy chant and a big moment of noble sacrifice in the film. And now Basco is part of a Kickstarter to tell Rufio’s origin story. The project is called Bangarang (the rallying cry of Hook’s Lost Boys), and it’s described as a “short fan film about Rufio before Hook.” Basco has been talking about a Rufio prequel for years now, but this Kickstarter is the most concrete step forward yet.
Billed as an executive producer, Basco is working with young writer-director and Hook superfan Jonah Feingold, who crafted the story about Rufio’s pre-Neverland adventures. In the Kickstarter video, Feingold explains that Bangarang will center on Rufio’s time in a foster home with a ragtag group of friends. The film will lead up to Rufio’s arrival in Neverland and even offer an origin story for his mohawk. The Kickstarter page also doubles as a casting call for young “Roofus” and his two friends, Ella and Julani. Basco and Feingold are asking young actors to submit auditions, and they’re focused on getting a diverse cast (Roofus is Filipino, Ella is Hispanic, and Julani is Jamaican).
The project is well on its way to meeting its goal of $30,000. If the Kickstarter is somehow able to raise $200,000, however, Bangarang will be expanded into a feature-length film. It’s certainly a lofty goal, though there are still 25 days left before the Kickstarter ends. Should it reach its short film goal, Bangarang will premiere for free on Basco’s YouTube channel in April 2017. A feature film will presumably take a little longer to produce.