A Galaxy Quest sequel won’t happen any time soon — but there may be a reason to hope. The 1999 film, starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shaloub, and Sam Rockwell, ended in such a way that it was possible for either a sequel to pick up where it left off. So, why hasn’t it happened yet?
Galaxy Quest told the story of a group of actors living off the glory days of the sci-fi space opera TV show they all starred on suddenly being pulled into a real, intergalactic mission. Jason Nesmith (Allen) is approached for help by a group of aliens known as Thermians. The Thermians faces extinction at the hands of an alien warlord and believes the Galaxy Quest actors are an actual team who could help them. After the Thermians prove their plight is very real, Jason convinces the rest of his cast members to play along as their Galaxy Quest characters while also taking the mission very seriously. The film ends with Jason and the cast returning to Earth after saving the Thermians and starring in a Galaxy Quest revival series.
There was plenty of interest in continuing the adventures of Jason Nesmith and his crew in the years after Galaxy Quest premiered. But, as seen below, production a sequel (and later a TV show) was met with complications.
Galaxy Quest 2 Almost Happened
A Galaxy Quest sequel was apparently ready to go for years with the cast expressing uniform interest in participating. But as the sequel very nearly came together, an unfortunate turn of events halted production. According to cast alum Rockwell in a 2016 interview The Nerdist Podcast:
“They were going to do a sequel on Amazon and we were ready to sign up for, and you know, Alan Rickman passed away and Tim Allen wasn’t available, he has a show, and everybody’s show was all weird. We were going to [do] this sequel on Amazon. It was going to shoot like, right now.”
Rockwell added, “And how do you fill that void of Alan Rickman? That’s a hard void to fill.” The Oscar-winner isn’t wrong; it would have been odd for fans to see most of the original cast return without Rickman, whose character was integral, involved.
A Galaxy Quest TV Show Was Explored
A Galaxy Quest TV show was also very, very close to happening. The show was first announced in 2015. It was reported Amazon had retained the rights (likely from the sequel that never happened) and would develop it for their streaming service. The show got a new writer in Paul Scheer, who took over in 2017. Scheer later shared his vision, explaining the show would tackle how fandom has evolved as shows like Galaxy Quest have gone on to become huge cultural influences and grow in popularity themselves. Of course, it would also continue the Galaxy Quest story but Scheer clearly intended for the TV show to explore some deeper themes.
The Status On A Galaxy Quest Sequel Or TV Show Is Up In The Air
There has been no news since 2017 about Amazon’s further developments on a Galaxy Quest television show. It’s possible development on the series has been tabled for the time being with the option to be re-explored in the future. However, it’s often not a good sign when news about an announced show suddenly stops with no warning. Similarly, it’s unclear what the future holds for a Galaxy Quest sequel. Following the abrupt pause on the sequel with the original cast, interest in re-opening development has apparently been non-existent.
As of 2019, it doesn’t seem like there’s a definitive “no” when it comes to answering whether a Galaxy Quest sequel or TV show will happen. Development conversations may resume at some point but for now, studios, networks, and streaming services have put their focus elsewhere.
