One of the most heartbreaking things that have happened in the world of cinema these last few months was the death of Alan Rickman, AKA Snape, AKA Dr. Lazarus, AKA Han Gruber. His death from cancer last year was a tragedy that shook everybody who has even glanced at a Harry Potter novel or glimpsed a clip of Die Hard, but it seems that his passing heavily affected one set of people in particular: his fellow cast members of Galaxy Quest.
The original Galaxy Quest, a satirical look at classic science fiction television such as Star Trek, was an utterly unique beast that the studio apparently didn’t quite know what to make of. Featuring big name stars such as Sigourney Weaver and Tim Allen, it was an instant classic that garnered a huge cult following – a $45 million budget film that ultimately grossed $90 million worldwide. With such huge success, is it so surprising that a sequel was in the works?
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Well, it was, until Rickman was no longer with us.
The metaphorical beans were spilled by none other than Sam Rockwell during a podcast with Nerdist. While Rickman’s death was not the only spanner in the works, it was apparently one of the largest.
“They were gonna do a [Galaxy Quest] sequel on Amazon, and we were ready to sign up for it…and you know, Alan Rickman passed away and then Tim Allen wasn’t available. He has a show, and everybody’s schedule was all weird…It was gonna shoot like right now…And how do you fill that void of Alan Rickman? That’s a hard void to fill,” he told The Nerdist today.
However, it is certainly a tribute to Amazon that they did not try to force the sequel to happen regardless. While Sigourney Weaver has previously said she would be up for reprising her role, the whole feel of Galaxy Quest as a satire could fall dangerously flat without Dr. Lazarus’ famously dry wit. It appears that, for the time being, at least, this fantastic film will remain solo.
