When we lost Alan Rickman, we lost an incredible acting talent. He was a star who commanded the screen whenever he was on it. while we still have all of the great movies he made, we’ve lost out on all the movies that could have been, and that includes a sequel to Galaxy Quest, according to his co-star.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, Galaxy Quest co-star Sigourney Weaver discussed the sequel that might have happened if the stars had aligned. She says there was always interest from the cast in making a sequel, but following the passing of Alan Rickman, it doesn’t appear anybody wants to make it anymore. She said:
We always meant to do a sequel. And then with Alan passing away, we just lost heart. But it was a great privilege to do this love letter to actors.
The story of Galaxy Quest 2 is an interesting one because the script for the movie already exists. Tim Allen had previously mentioned that Robert Gordon, who wrote the original film, had written a sequel, and there were plans to film it before Rickman passed.
Sigourney Weaver explained what may have been the reason why a Galaxy Quest sequel didn’t happen sooner. The version of the film that was released had been significantly edited by Dreamworks, in order to make it more family-friendly, apparently removing many of Alan Rickman’s “strange and wonderful” scenes. This led Gordon to refuse to let DreamWorks have the sequel. Weaver said:
Bob Gordon had written a second one, and he wouldn’t give it to Dreamworks. He just felt they’d missed the boat on ours.
Despite any alleged studio issues, there were reportedly plans to film Galaxy Quest 2 at Amazon back in 2016. Unfortunately, that was the year that Alan Rickman passed away. This obviously killed any short-term plans to make the movie, and now, nearly a decade later, it doesn’t appear there is any greater interest in touching the material without the full cast.
Galaxy Quest 2 is far from the only movie that we’ll never see because somebody passed away. In the end, it’s likely better to let those things go than to try and make them without the people who made the original great. Sigourney Weaver thinks we need a director’s cut of the original Galaxy Quest with Alan Rickman’s deleted work restored, and that sounds like a pretty great idea. The movie is already a classic; some extra footage to showcase the late actor could make it even better for longtime fans.
A sequel to Galaxy Quest seems all but impossible at this point. However, a Galaxy Quest TV series concept was in development years ago. As of the Skydance/Paramount merger earlier this year, Deadline reports that another take on the show is developing at CBS Studios.
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