Disney is bringing back "The Rocketeer" with a black female lead
Disney is finally doing something with one of its long-dormant, fan-favorite movie properties, "The Rocketeer" -- but with a twist.
Walt Disney Studios is working on a "sequel-reboot" to the 1991 action adventure movie that starred Billy Campbell as a stunt pilot who finds a rocket pack and becomes a Word War II-era hero. The new film, called "The Rocketeers," will feature an African-American female lead.
Max Winkler and Matt Spicer are writing the script, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "The Jungle Book" producer Brigham Taylor is producing it alongside L.A. Clippers star Blake Griffin and the Carolina Panthers' Ryan Kalil.
The original film did disappointing business at the box office but has developed a vocal cult audience. Its director, "Joe Johnston," went on to make "Captain America: the First Avenger."
The new film will be set six years after the original, with Campbell's Rocketeer having vanished while fighting the Nazis, opening the door for a young African-American pilot to take up the mantle of the Rocketeer. There is no release date currently set for the new film.