Buck Rogers Returns in New Film Adaptation
The novel Armageddon 2419 A.D. will be getting a new film treatment, courtesy of Angryfilms.
Deadline Hollywood reports that the company will produce a new adaptation of the story by Philip Francis Nowlan. Originally published in Amazing Stories magazine (which currently syndicates our H2O podcast), Armageddon 2419 A.D. tells the story of Anthony Rogers and his journey from post-WWI to the 25th century. In later iterations of the story, the character went by the more recognizable moniker “Buck Rogers”.
The story was later syndicated and expanded in newspapers by John F. Dille, whose family still owns the rights to the story. Dille’s grandson, Flint Dille, will co-write with Ed Neumeier. Dille’s screenwriting work dates back to the original Transformers animated series, and his graphic novel Agent 13 is in development at Universal Studios. He’s currently the creative lead on Google’s mobile game Ingress (which had a panel at Planet Comicon 2015). Neumeier was the screenwriter on RoboCop and Starship Troopers.
RELATED ~ Ingress Panel at Planet Comicon 2015
According to the report, this version will have Rogers hailing from modern times, with a 2419 informed by the technological advances currently in place and projecting forward. Rogers will, of course, be darker and moodier, a noticeable departure from the Buck Rogers of 1979’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century starring Gil Gerard.
RELATED ~ Gil Gerard at Sci Fi Expo 2013
The project will be produced by Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angryfilms, the company behind such other science fiction hits as Real Steel and the Transformers series. The plan is to shop the project to the studios with an eye toward building a franchise.
