It does sound as though there are a couple of reasons why Galaxy Quest the series never took off and why a sequel never came to be. The cast, for the most part, were intrigued about a comeback and a possible continuation of the 1999 movie despite the fact that it didn’t get that much attention and became more of a cult classic than a true hit. Galaxy Quest was as close to being a spoof movie as it could be without going over the line since it did take a lot of cues from Star Trek and created its own brand much as The Orville attempted many years later. Thankfully people tend to like this type of display as Jon Fuge of MovieWeb would agree and eventually came around to enjoying Galaxy Quest for what it was, a playful movie that didn’t look to take itself too seriously and was good fun for those that are into science fiction and might just want a good laugh. After all with a lot of space odyssey’s the laughs are usually few and far between since they’re made to be more dramatic than comedic and tend to delve into serious issues right away. Galaxy Quest was a great time for the cast and the audience since it allowed them to play with an idea that’s been around for long enough that satire and parody is considered to be a natural byproduct.
The reasons why the show didn’t take off however could be that the individual in charge of approving the pitch wasn’t sold on it right away and didn’t think it would do the movie any favors since once people were turned on to the movie it became a funny and engaging title that a lot of people were willing to talk about. The whole ‘lightning in a bottle’ effect just didn’t come about with the pitch for the show since after so long of sitting about something had been lost and the idea just wasn’t quite as popular. The other, more obvious reason is that Alan Rickman, one of the main stars of the movie, passed away in 2016 and as a result a lot of people couldn’t see the show going on without one of the key actors that had given so much to the production. Most people still recall that it was a sad, sad day when Rickman passed since he’d been such a huge name in Hollywood and someone that was idolized and adored for more than one character in his time. After all he gave us Hans Gruber, who’s recognized for helping to kick off Christmas when he falls from Nakatomi tower. He’s also remembered as Professor Severus Snape, the Hogwart’s teacher that initially hated Harry Potter but was his saving grace near the end of the movie. A lot of people might forget that he played Dr. Lazarus on Galaxy Quest but for the sake of this article it’s important to recall that he was one of the more popular members on the cast and also one of the most skilled.
Going on without Rickman wouldn’t have been the same and it likely wouldn’t have felt right as even a few of the cast members have said as much. There are movies that can be made even after the passing of important stars and be fashioned so as to pay homage to those stars and advance the story with their memory in mind, but Galaxy Quest doesn’t feel like the same type of story that would hold together without one of its key characters. Again though it’s likely that a series or sequel wouldn’t have been nearly the same even if the rest of the cast had been contacted and recruited for the movie. When you think about it Galaxy Quest did have a fairly impressive cast since they compiled a couple of different comedians and some very talented actors that managed to coexist on a set where ego was actually supposed to be one of the biggest elements given that Tim Allen’s character is supposed to be an enormous egotist. All in all though it does sound as though the movie was a fun project for the cast and that there were few if any major issues as the cast enjoyed working with each other. Trying to get that back is more than a little difficult even under the best of conditions since the kind of magic that helps to make a movie in this manner is something that doesn’t come around on demand.
One of these days it might be that we’ll see a reboot of Galaxy Quest or someone will have the nerve or guts to bring it on as a streaming service, but hopefully it will be a long time from now and that same magic will be ready and available for someone to take full advantage of.
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