David Oyelowo had high hopes for The Return of the Rocketeer. The actor and producer was deep into developing the sequel to the beloved 1991 Disney film, with plans to produce alongside his wife Jessica through their company Yoruba Saxon, and he was even potentially gooing to star in it.
But now, years later, that jetpack-fueled follow-up has stalled. And Oyelowo is opening up about why. In a candid new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Oyelowo talked about how the momentum behind more inclusive filmmaking, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, has sputtered.
He and Jessica’s production company gained interest on a number of projects during that time, including their Netflix-bound adaptation of Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun and the long-brewing Rocketeer revival at Disney. But as the cultural tide shifted, so did the support. Oyelowo said:
“Onyeka is an absolute bull’s-eye for what we are looking to make, but it is also symptomatic of the challenge we have. We gained traction with that project in the wake of the George Floyd murder and in a moment where there was a cultural correction and people seemed to want to do better.”
And then came the wall. He went on to explain:
“But now we’re in a moment where it’s evident that a lot of that was performative and not bone-deep. Projects like that suddenly become challenged. Onyeka being one, Return Of The Rocketeer at Disney being another.”
The Rocketeer project was first announced in 2021, with Ed Ricourt (Now You See Me) writing the script. It was to be a continuation of Joe Johnston’s original cult classic, and the idea of Oyelowo strapping on that rocket pack brought some real buzz from fans. But it never quite lifted off.
Even as industry forces push back on DEI initiatives, Oyelowo remains undeterred. He said:
“Attack on DEI or not, we’ve been doing it before there was all this energy around it and we will be doing it after.”
The Return of the Rocketeer would’ve had “an all-new creative directive with Ricourt’s story focusing on a retired Tuskegee airman who takes up the mantle of the Rocketeer.”
Oyelowo also previously said:
“Well, I loved the original film. I remember seeing it, and again, not unlike the cowboy genre, there was something about it, the aspirational, inspirational, heroic quality of it.
“I also liked that it was sort of a bit more DIY and do-it-yourself in terms of the pack. It wasn’t superpowers. It was a guy. It just felt more grounded somehow.”
I would’ve acgtually loved to see this Rocketeer movie get made. It’s a shame that there’s no longer any movement on it.
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