Paul W.S. Anderson Explains His Interest in Buck Rogers
Posted 04.06.10 by Ryan
Last month saw the announcement that Iron Man screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway and Resident Evil: Afterlife director Paul W.S. Anderson were set to make a 3-D version of Buck Rogers, the sci-fi character from comic strips and the subject of a 1979 TV show starring Gil Gerard. In an interview with Collider at San Francisco WonderCon last weekend, Anderson explained what inspired him to take on the character.
Firstly, Buck Rogers is the longest-running comic strip in North American history, and Buck has had a huge influence on popular culture. If you talk to George Lucas or to [Steven] Spielberg, they'll tell you they were heavily influenced by Buck Rogers when they were making Star Wars or Raiders of the Last Ark, that kind of classic, cliffhanger, action-adventure, Saturday morning, kind-of-cartoon feel. And, you know, Buck has been so influential, it was kind of fun to take the character that had inspired Raiders of the Lost Ark or had inspired elements of Star Wars and go back to that original character.
And the other attraction for me is to work with Marcum and Holloway who wrote the original Iron Man movie because they're great writers. And I thought what they did with Tony Stark, which gave him real cool character stuff is what they're going to do with Buck. So, you know, it's a classic character, it's got great writers, and it's a phenomenal palette for me to work with as a filmmaker; Earth in 500 years time. So it's a very exciting package.
Anderson said that Marcum and Holloway were "just about to start working" on the script, which means that Anderson will likely shoot his "modernized" and 3-D adaptation of Three Musketeers next. For now, Anderson told MTV that Buck is just beginning the casting process, and said that his version will be "respectful" to previous versions of Buck.
Obviously we're going to be respectful of the past Buck Rogers [incarnations], but this is something very much about the future, reinventing the character. I loved that [1979-1980] TV show. It's not going to be that, but it is the same theme as Buck Rogers has always been since the 1920s. It's a relatable man of today who is flung into the far future. But, it's not going to be Lycra bodysuits.
So any homage to Buck co-star Erin Gray's bodysuits is out, but what about Twiki, Buck's diminutive robot buddy?
"Maybe," said Anderson.