Disney rebooting ‘The Rocketeer’?

Remember when Disney made live-action films on a more regular basis? While the studio is probably best known for its award-winning animated features, there was a time when the house of mouse churned out flesh and blood films that didn't have "Pirates of the Caribbean," "National Treasure," or "The Chronicles of Narnia" in the title -- movies like 1991's "The Rocketeer."

The action-adventure film was an Indiana Jones-style throwback to the serial films of the 1930s and '40s, only in this movie the hero had a jet pack instead of a whip. Think of it as "Iron Man" in the '30s. Set just prior to the Second World War, the Joe Johnston ("Captain America: The First Avenger") film starred Billy Campbell (remember Billy Campbell?!) as Cliff Secord, a hot-shot American pilot who discovers a state-of-the-art rocket pack (built by Howard Hughes) that allows him to fly without needing a plane. In the guise of The Rocketeer, Secord attempts to foil a Nazi plot -- led by a villainous Timothy Dalton -- to invade the United States with an army of rocket pack-equipped soldiers. The film also stars a very young Jennifer Connelly as Secord's main squeeze, Jenny.

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The film was a bit of a flop at the time, but has since become a bit of a cult classic. With success of the studio's franchise pictures like "Pirates," Disney began to shy away from interesting projects like "The Rocketeer," opting instead for safe bets that would put butts in seats and open the door for numerous sequels. After comparatively disappointing box office results from movies like the fourth "Pirates" film, "Tron: Legacy" and "John Carter," Disney put all its eggs in into the Marvel Studios' superhero movies and Pixar's computer animated romps. There was no room for anything other than a sure bet, and that uncertainty has led to the studio reevaluating older properties like "The Rocketeer."

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According to Vulture, Disney is looking to develop a reboot of "The Rocketeer" and is currently meeting with potential screenwriters. Coincidentally, "The Rocketeer" is based on a comic book series of the same name from the now non-existent Pacific Comics; the reboot talk comes at a time when comic book movies like "The Avengers" have become the studio's biggest cash cow. It's only natural that executives at Disney would start looking at existing comic properties they own. Why buy the film rights to some other book when you've already got stuff in house?

Would you watch a remake of "The Rocketeer? Do you think betting on the high flying adventure is a good move for the troubled Disney brand?