No one will ever accuse filmmaker Kevin Smith of not being a passionate individual. His long and storied career has pretty much been characterized by his overwhelming love of nostalgia and geek culture. It has seeped into his work, and afforded him ample opportunities to work on beloved properties. Now it seems that his fanaticism will soon allow him to remake a beloved cult classic from the 1980s: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
Kevin Smith revealed that he had met with the folks at MGM regarding a TV remake of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, making it the latest property Hollywood wants to update for the small screen. Although he seems somewhat reluctant to divulge any vital details during the podcast, Smith eventually goes on to admit that he had not only been approached for the project, but that he has a vision for the first two seasons. :
Basically you just do the entire movie for Season 1, then Season 1 you finally do the sequel we’ve all dreamed about, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League.
Kevin Smith makes a point during the podcast to indicate that Buckaroo Banzai is obviously an incredibly obscure property, and many people have likely not even heard of it. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a cult classic sci-fi movie from 1984 with a stellar cast including Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, and Christopher Lloyd. It chronicles the ridiculous adventures of a surgeon/rock star by the name of Buckaroo Banzai as he and his group of friends take on a group of alien invaders attacking from the eighth dimension. So basically it's pure, off-the-wall, 1980s greatness in every way possible, filled with off-kilter moments like this.
And should Kevin Smith indeed get this gig and bring Buckaroo Banzai back to audiences, that second season would be an outstanding reason to cheer for sci-fi fans. While the film has become a cult classic, audiences weren't quite ready for it at the time, and so the studio never put forth the effort or funds to capitalize on the promise of the sequel.
While Smith primarily has made a name for himself as a film director over the years, it seems that his recent efforts in the world of television have garnered him new attention from Hollywood. In particular, his critically acclaimed work on a recent episode of The Flash seems to have been the primary impetus for getting him the job in the first place. Considering how much we all loved that episode, we think Buckaroo Banzai is in very safe hands.
Television remakes of iconic film properties have become relatively commonplace and successful in recent years. Kevin Smith cites the critical success of Fargo as a primary impetus for the decision to revive Buckaroo Banzai in the first place. With adaptations like Lethal Weapon and Shooter on the way, it’s looking as though the film-to-TV well won’t run dry anytime soon.
You can listen to the recent episode of Hollywood Babble-On in its entirety below to hear what Kevin Smith had to say regarding the matter:
We will keep you posted regarding the upcoming reboot of Buckaroo Banzai as more details become available to us. If anyone has the reverence and passion to make a project like this work, then that person has to be Kevin Smith.
