The cult classic sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest has been trying to find a second life on television for awhile now, but finally made serious strides when Amazon committed to airing the project. Paul Scheer was hired to write the TV adaptation, but not much is known about it. Would the series be a continuation of the movie? Would the original cast return or would they be recast? Is it just a straight up reboot? Scheer was recently able to fill in some of these blanks, and revealed that the show will tie into the original movie, with the goal of the original cast interacting with an all-new one.
For me, it was really important to do service to a Galaxy Quest story that gives you everything that you want and indoctrinates people who have never seen Galaxy Quest into what the fun of that world is. That Tropic Thunder, Galaxy Quest world. And also to continue the story of our original characters and have consequences from the first film. . . . So it is mixing two casts. It's separate kind of adventures that kind of merge, and I'm looking at this first season not as episodic, but as a serialized story. So, the only way I've been looking at it is, using everything from the first movie and making the reasons for everything not just -- I want to avoid anything that could be viewed as a reboot for reboot's sake. There are real reasons behind these choices -- maybe too much so.
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 sci-fi comedy about the cast of an old Star Trek style show being recruited for an actual space adventure. Paul Scheer is writing the TV adaptation for Amazon, and recently told /Film some early details about the still far away project. The TV show will directly tie into the events of the movie and continue the story of the original cast. There will also be an entirely new cast of characters introduced in the show, with the two groups eventually merging together as the season progresses. Paul Scheer did not say who specifically of the remaining original cast (Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mitchell) would be returning, but one would wager that the goal is to get as many of them as possible.
The movie is essentially a commentary on fandom while poking fun at certain sci-fi tropes, and that won't change in the TV adaptation. So much has changed in fandom since 1999, with the popularity of genre shows and movies now becoming the norm in culture. This means that the Galaxy Quest show has the opportunity to be fresh and relevant, and Paul Scheer is taking full advantage of that.
And then the other jumping off point was, I love that in 1999, as a fan of Star Trek and going to these conventions since I was a kid: sci-fi, fantasy, those worlds have changed so drastically. I really wanted to capture the difference between the original cast of Star Trek and the J.J. Abrams cast of Star Trek. I think that, to me, is my entry point. Sci-fi heroes are rock stars now. If you look at Thor, in 1999 if that movie came out, it would not be received the way it is. People would not want to see a cosmic, galactic thing on that level. But now we're accepting it. I think just by virtue of that switch in our environment, it'll make the story feel a little bit more fresh.
Galaxy Quest is a really fun movie, and so far, everything about the new show seems likes it's heading in a great direction. There's no release date just yet for Amazon's Galaxy Quest, but stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated with new information as soon as it is available. In the meantime, keep track of all the shows airing right now with our fall premiere and TV cancellation guides.
