Galaxy Quest Series Gets an Encouraging Update (& Star Trek Fans Should Be Happy)

After years of being in development, the Galaxy Quest TV series gets an exciting update that’s sure to please fans. In a wide-ranging interview with Deadline, producer Mark Johnson (who produced the original 1999 film) discussed a couple of projects he has coming through the pipeline. Of the many things he has in the works are TV adaptations of the movies Galaxy Quest and The Holdovers. He was asked how those are coming along, and while he didn’t reveal much, Johnson confirmed that both are in progress, with writers hard at work on scripts. Still, this doesn’t mean the series have been officially greenlit.

“Both are being written, so we’ll see,” Johnson said.

Galaxy Quest wasn’t a massive hit when it premiered back in 1999 (grossing just $90.7 million worldwide against a budget of $45 million), but its reputation has grown significantly in the years since. Now considered a cult classic, there have been attempts to bring Galaxy Quest back to the limelight over the past several years. A planned sequel to the film stalled due to the tragic passing of star Alan Rickman, who memorably played Alexander Dane in the original film.

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The Galaxy Quest TV show has been in the works as far back as 2017 when it was set up at Amazon. Writer Paul Scheer had the idea to continue the story of the movie. Unfortunately, the project was put on hold in 2018 after executive Amy Powell was fired from Paramount. Galaxy Quest got a new lease on life in 2023 when it was reported the series was in development at Paramount+.

It sounds like there’s still some work to be done before the Galaxy Quest series gets off the ground, but it’s nice to see the project isn’t dead. The movie has been hailed as a loving parody and homage to Star Trek; fans even voted Galaxy Quest to be one of the best Star Trek movies ever made. Galaxy Quest was definitely ahead of its time. When it was released, pop culture fandom was in a very different place, but with the superhero movie boom, the relaunch of the Star Wars franchise, Star Trek’s own reboot, and more, “geek culture” is no longer niche. There’s potential for some fascinating commentary with the Galaxy Quest concept. As long as it strikes the same tone as the movie, the TV show should be a worthy endeavor fans will love.

It’ll be interesting to see if and when the Galaxy Quest series gets off the ground. Johnson didn’t shed light on how far along the show is in the writing process, and the studio likely won’t move forward with it until there are some completed scripts handed in and the higher-ups get an idea of what it looks like. The Galaxy Quest premise should lend itself easily to the TV format, so the writing team shouldn’t have any trouble delivering something entertaining and heartfelt. Perhaps the biggest question — assuming the show is still intended to be a continuation of the movie — is how the series handles Alexander Dane. It’s impossible to picture Galaxy Quest without the incomparable Rickman, so this will be a hurdle the creative team has to clear.