‘Buckaroo Banzai’ TV Series Being Developed By Kevin Smith
1984’s The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a hard movie to describe. I mean, your protagonist is a physicist, neurosurgeon, test pilot, and (importantly) a rock musician. He drives a jet car, and fights inter-dimensional aliens.
You know, like you do.
While the filmmakers had always hoped for a sequel (announcing Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League in the credits), the lack of commercial success meant that this one film would be the only Buckaroo Banzai we’d probably ever get.
Well, that might not be the case anymore.
Kevin Smith has stated that he’s in early talks with MGM to develop Buckaroo Banzai into a television series. If the show goes forward, the first season would retell the plot of the movie, with any subsequent seasons continuing the character’s adventures.
This is interesting to me on a lot of levels. While the film is a cult classic to geeks of a certain age (i.e. people like me and older), most younger nerds may not have ever actually seen the film. Frankly, I’m thirty-five, and while I’ve watched it, I barely remember anything from it because I last watched it on a Sunday afternoon when I was ten.
But I remembered the name.
And maybe that’s the biggest strength for any Buckaroo Banzai adaptation. For a generation, people have not shut up about how you “have to see this film,” but a lot of people just haven’t. The name recognition is huge, but most people aren’t actually familiar with the source material. This could bring in a lot of potential viewers to a show where they still won’t see the story coming.
I legitimately hope this project moves forward.
