Here’s some exciting news for you, folks—Disney has made the bold, completely surprising decision to raid its past library with the hopes of remaking a beloved classic. How the studio came up with this idea is anyone’s guess, but we’ll just have to see how it plays out because this is truly uncharted territory for the studio. Hopefully, you can see the sarcasm in those words, as Disney is no stranger to remakes, revivals, and reboots. And it appears the studio is back at it with Bryce Dallas Howard helming a new version of “Flight of the Navigator.”
According to THR, Disney has signed on Bryce Dallas Howard to produce and direct a new film based on the 1986 family film, “Flight of the Navigator.” The original tells the story of a young 12-year-old boy who is abducted by aliens and returned to Earth eight years later. As if that wasn’t odd enough, the young boy hasn’t aged a day over the last eight years, and now is the subject of an intense investigation over a recovered UFO. While we can expect the bones of the story to stay largely the same, the report claims that Disney is gender-swapping the lead, focusing the film on the adventures of a young girl.
This is far from the first time that “Flight of the Navigator” has been the subject of remake reports. Years ago, the film was developed as a possible new film for director Colin Trevorrow. That never came to be, and the rights went to Lionsgate, who also failed to get a new version of the property going. Now, Disney is back with its latest attempt and is hoping to put this new ‘Navigator’ on Disney+.
LISTEN: Bryce Dallas Howard On ‘Dads’ & Returning For ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2 [Podcast]
Howard is probably best known for her acting roles, but lately, she’s been flexing her directing muscles as one of the regular filmmakers for two seasons of “The Mandalorian.” Clearly, she’s already impressed Disney and the studio is hoping to keep her around.
