George Clooney to back reboot of classic sci-fi, 'Buck Rogers'
George Clooney is sweeping off the dust from a pretty popular yet old science fiction title. The star is set to executive-produce the classic title of Buck Rogers, which has had its fans hooked to comic strips, novellas, a film and even a TV series since the late 1920s. Legendary Pictures is making the title with Clooney, who's joined by Smokehouse Pictures' Grant Heslov.
It might be a 'potential starring vehicle' for Clooney
The producers for this title include Clooney, Heslov, Don Murphy, Susan Montford, and Flint Dille, who is the grandson of the original Buck Rogers comic strip publisher John F. Dille. Sources say there's no actor attached to the title yet, but chances are there that this might be a "potential starring vehicle" for Clooney himself. The idea germinated as a comic strip in 1928.
Buck Rogers was originally named Anthony, introduced in 1928
Philip Francis Nowlan wrote and introduced the character of Anthony Rogers in the story Armageddon 2419 A.D. for the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, in its August 1928 issue. After getting remarkable traction, Nowlan rechristened the character as Buck Rogers for the January 1929 issue of the magazine with cartoonist Dick Calkins (initially going by the name Richard) attached for the illustration.
The character ruled hearts of comic lovers for decades
The strip inspired rival publications to come up with their own science fiction heroes such as Brick Bradford and the most popular Flash Gordon. The original comic run ended first with the magazine's Sunday special page concluding on June 13, 1965 and the daily version ending on July 8, 1967. A reboot titled Buck Rogers in the 25th Century ran from 1979 to 1981.
Buster Crabbe played Buck first, series was made in 1978
The first film adaptation of Buck Rogers happened with actor Buster Crabbe playing the role for a 1939 film serial. Later on, Universal had Gil Gerard play the role of NASA astronaut Buck Rogers frozen in space for 500 years for a 1979 movie pilot titled Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. It succeeded and a TV series was broadcast from 1979 to 1981.
