The Last Starfighter is a movie that came out in the ‘80s, which means—like all movies that came out in the ‘80s—it’s the perfect subject for a high-profile remake. Kids should be building Last Starfighter-branded Lego sets. Last Starfighter fanboys should be complaining about how the new version ruined the beloved sci-fi classic. Or, at the very least, The Last Starfighter should’ve been made into a Syfy miniseries by now.
So why hasn’t it? Well, according to a Twitter conversation featuring Seth Rogen and Star Wars spinoff writer Gary Whitta, it’s because nobody can actually get the rights. And “nobody” isn’t an overstatement, either. According to Rogen, Steven Spielberg himself tried to get the rights to do a Last Starfighter remake, and even he was denied. /Film says the holdup is Jonathan R. Betuel, the original film’s writer, who “retains the rights to all remakes and sequels.” Apparently, Betuel doesn’t want any sort of remake to happen, or else he would’ve agreed to work with a Hollywood icon like Rogen or a funny goofball like Spielberg.
As for what happens next, it’ll be literally anything but a Last Starfighter remake. Maybe a remake of some other old sci-fi movie, like Star Wars. Has anyone done that yet?