Flight of the Navigator Getting a Reboot

Hollywood flicks through its reboot Rolodex once again, and the latest card fingered is Eighties kids classic Flight of the Navigator. According to Variety, Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson is scripting the film’s new iteration for Lionsgate.

Flight of the Navigator Reboot

Variety reports:

“Joe Henderson, the showrunner of Fox’s supernatural show Lucifer, has been hired to write a reboot of the 1986 kids sci-fi adventure movie that is now set up at Lionsgate.

The Jim Henson Company is on board to produce.”

The Jim Henson Company is responsible for the wonderful creatures in Eighties fantasy classics The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, as well as cult sci-fi show Farscape. As such, expect a veritable menagerie of exotic aliens to feature in the reboot.

This is the second attempt at a Flight of the Navigator movie reboot. The first, which dates back to 2009, recruited director Colin Trevorrow before collapsing. Trevorrow, best known for Jurassic World, recently vacated the Star Wars: Episode IX director’s chair.

The Original Flight of the Navigator

The 1986 sci-fi adventure film Flight of the Navigator follows the adventures of 12-year-old David. After an accident in the local forest, David awakes to find that twelve years have passed, but he remains the same age. In fact, David’s lost years appear connected to a UFO recovered locally by NASA.

The movie – helmed by Grease director Randal Kleiser – hit big with both critics and audiences alike. As such, it served as one of many spiritual predecessors to Netflix’s Eighties-inspired fantasy horror Stranger Things.