Galaxy Quest almost continued with a new actor filling the cosmic void left behind by the 2016 death of star Alan Rickman.
Sigourney Weaver has revealed that producers wanted to make Galaxy Quest 2 with the star of Doctor Strange replacing the man who played Dr. Lazarus. “At a certain point they talked about Benedict Cumberbatch playing a version of Alan’s part,” Weaver said on October 11 to a panel at New York Comic Con (via Happy Sad Confused/YouTube).
The legendary Alien star indicated during the same panel that she doesn’t think a Galaxy Quest sequel will ever come to pᴀss. She revealed that producers were close to making something happen when Rickman pᴀssed away in 2016, while noting how difficult it would be to replace the legendary actor in the Galaxy Quest mix. “Very hard to come back to it without Alan there.”
The Gwen DeMarco actor then mentioned some scenes of Rickman’s that were unfortunately cut from the Star Trek-inspired comedy movie’s release, as the studio sought a more family-friendly rating. “I wish they would put out a director’s cut, because those scenes were the best.”
Galaxy Quest 2 seems to be in a permanent holding pattern, but there are continued hopes of a TV show. CBS Studios was reported back in August to still be developing a series based on the 1999 DreamWorks release, even after the merger of CBS parent company Paramount with Skydance Media.
The stalled movie sequel would have revolved largely around the relationship between Tim Allen’s Jason Nesmith/Peter Taggart and Rickman’s Alexander Lane/Dr. Lazarus, Allen said in a 2021 interview (via EW). Allen said in 2022 (via ComicBook.com) that the Galaxy Quest 2 script he read picked up the story immediately after the events of the first film, enthusing, “The story itself was so clever and so fun.”
Laliari actor Missi Pyle expressed her own interest in reprising her Galaxy Quest character in a sequel, saying of the original in a 2022 ScreenRant interview, “It’s a really iconic movie.”
It is not known whether any original Galaxy Quest cast members would be asked back for the in-development TV show. The 1999 movie received strong critical praise at the time of its release, and currently sits at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was a mild box office success, grossing $90 million on a budget of $45 million.
The 2019 film Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary revisited the sci-fi comedy 20 years after its release, focusing on its devoted fan following, and the fond remembrances of cast members including Allen, Weaver, Sam Rockwell, and Tony Shalhoub.
