An ’80s Disney Movie Is Getting Rebooted

Disney Studios is reviving its 1986 sci-fi film Flight of the Navigator, but this time with a twist. A woman will star in the lead role of the revival, with Bryce Dallas Howard attached as the project’s producer and director for Disney+. Joey Cramer, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Veronica Cartwright starred in the original film, which followed the story of a boy who ventures eight years into the future from 1978 where he’s confronted by a comedic alien ship named Max (voiced by Paul Reubens). The two embark on a wild adventure together.

“I’m over the moon for the relaunch of #FlightOfTheNavigator (and all the space puns that’ll come with it),” Howard said, extremely ecstatic to share the news on Instagram. She also asked her followers to sound off with their favorite moments from the original in her comment section. Since she, herself, is a fan of the galactic film, she teased one of hers sharing three dog emojis. 

The 1986 film was largely a success for the studio, raking in $18.6 million domestically at the box office. Randal Keiser, the director behind Grease and The Blue Lagoon, helmed the original film. Michael Burton and Phil Joanou penned the script. Howard’s production partner John Schwartz will also produce the remake alongside Justin Springer. 

Howard has built a decent rapport with Disney, having worked with the studio on a number of projects. She’s directed two episodes of Star Wars: The Mandalorian for Disney+ as well as two episodes of its upcoming spinoff, The Book of Boba Fett. It’s no wonder the Jurassic World star has been getting praise for her directing skills, considering she’s the daughter of famed director Ron Howard. Bryce previously opened up about not wanting to say anything regarding her familial connection to Hollywood, telling the LA Times that she eventually grew comfortable with people knowing the truth. “I was insecure about that when I was younger,” Bryce told the outlet. “When I went to NYU, I wouldn’t tell anyone my last name and I was like, ‘No, Dad, you can’t come see my play because people might recognize you.’”

“For me to be weird about something that, honestly, really doesn’t have anything to do with me — I just realized, that’s just shortsighted,” she added. “So many of my peers at NYU had parents who were really not supportive of them being artists in any way, shape or form, which totally made sense because they were scared for them.”