Almost twenty years later, Galaxy Quest still holds up as one of the most original, funniest ensemble comedies of all time. From a killer script by David Howard, director Dean Parisot‘s sci-fi comedy follows the alumni cast of an intergalactic adventure series (a very thinly-veiled Star Trek) who are thrust into the real thing when an alien race mistakes their episodes for “historical documents” and shows up at a fan convention begging for help against a deadly foe.

Not only was Galaxy Quest a delightful action comedy and a wickedly clever take on Hollywood and nerd-dom, it also boasted a cast that was absolutely stacked with comedic talent, including Alan Rickman, Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Enrico Colantoni, Justin Long, Missi Pyle, Daryl Mitchell, and Sam Rockwell. Put it all together, and you’ve got a bonafide cult classic that generates excitement to this day. And as it turns out, we were thisclose to having a sequel.

During an interview with Chris Hardwick on the Nerdist Podcast, Sam Rockwell revealed that Amazon was actively working on putting a sequel together that would have brought back the original cast, but due to scheduling conflicts and Alan Rickman’s untimely passing, it never came together. Not only that, it was supposed to be shooting right now.

Here’s what he said:

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 this sequel on Amazon. It was going to shoot like, right now.

To which Hardwick appropriately responded, “Holy shit!” Last year we heard that Amazon was developing a Galaxy Quest series with the creative team behind the feature film, but it sounds like that project was meant to be a direct sequel. While Allen’s schedule may be an issue, the real derailing factor here is the loss of Rickman, who is an inimitable presence. As Rockwell said, “How do you fill that void?” And you really can’t.

Certainly it’s possible that the powers-that-be may opt to move forward with the project at some point after re-working Rickman’s death into the script? But should they? I say no. Galaxy Quest is perfect, and it just wouldn’t be the same without Rickman’s morose Alexander Dane.

What do you guys think? Are you bereft at the thought of what might have been? Do you still want the sequel together without Rickman, or is that out of the question? Sound off in the comments below.