Disney has decided to remake its 1986 science fiction adventure Flight of the Navigator, announced our good friends at Deadline. This remake has a female lead replacing Joey Kramer. Actress/director Bryce Dallas Howard will be directing and producing the new movie.
Who is Bryce Howard?
Bryce Dallas Howard is of course the daughter of little Ronnie Howard (Opie on The Andy Griffith Show, Richie Cunningham on Happy Days, Steve in American Graffiti) who grew up to direct Splash, Apollo 13, and Solo: A Star Wars Story and the niece of actor Clint Howard. “Clint Howard is well known to Star Trek fans for playing Balok in the “The Corbomite Manuever” in 1966. He also played Grady in the Deep Space Nine episode “Past Tense, Part 2” in 1995, and the Ferengi Muk in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Acquisition” in 2002. He played Dr. Mimmer in the short-lived Space Rangers.“
Bryce Dallas Howard is no stranger to science fiction and fantasy, nor to Disney. She played Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3. Howard played dinosaur rights activist Claire Dearing in the Jurassic World franchise. She is reprising the role in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion. She was Victoria in the Twilight movies. Bryce Howard played Ranger Grace Meacham in the reboot of Disney’s Pete’s Dragon. She was a Who in the live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
This is her tenth directing credit. It will be her third credit as a producer. Howard has directed two episodes of The Mandalorian. She directed one episode of Disney +’s new show The Book of Boba Fett. She has directed documentaries, shorts, and TV episodes, but this will be her first full-length movie.
About The Flight of the Navigator
The Flight of the Navigator, is the story of a child (12-year-old David Freeman originally, but a girl in the reboot) who is accidentally abducted by an alien spaceship. He returns years later, unaged but not unchanged.
It stars Joey Cramer as David Freeman as the abducted boy, who departs in 1978 and returns in 1986. It features an early film appearance by Sarah Jessica Parker as Carolyn McAdams, a key character who befriends David in a time of need.
The original film made its debut in 1986. David Cramer played the lead role as Joey Freeman. Veronica Cartwright played his mother, Helen Freeman (her younger sister Angela played Penny Robinson on Lost in Space.
Flight of the Navigator is notable for being one of the first Hollywood films to use extensive CGI effects, specifically, it was the first use of image-based lighting, and an early use of morphing in a motion picture. The film is also known to be one of the first Hollywood productions to feature an entirely electronic music film score, composed using a Synclavier, one of the first digital multi-track recorders and samplers.
Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows. Her nonfiction book THEY ENDURED will be published by B Cubed Press in 2025 or 2026.
Ya know, I think I’d rather see a continuation from the original than a reboot. Hollywood’s reboots have been severely disappointing. Nothing comes to mind that even came close to the originals.