Lucifer showrunner penning script for Flight of the Navigator reboot

The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson, whose other credits include 11.22.63 and White Collar, has been tapped by Lionsgate to write the script for a reboot of the 1986 film Flight of the Navigator. The Henson Co. is set to co-produce the film with the studio.

The 1986 original told the story of a 12-year-old boy who is abducted by an alien spacecraft in 1978 and reappears eight years later, still the same age and with no memory of what happened. NASA scientists discover a connection between the boy and a downed spacecraft and try to exploit the boy, who ultimately escapes with the ship and attempts to reunite with his family.

Flight of the Navigator was originally directed by Randal Kleiser (Grease) but failed to generate a large return at the box office, bringing in just $18 million upon release. The film since became a cult hit, however.

A Flight of the Navigator reboot has been in development for many years but has failed to materialize. Disney first sought to reboot the property in 2009 from a script by Brad Copeland (Arrested Development, Wild Hogs), but the project never got off the ground. In 2012, ahead of their attachment to Jurassic World, Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly were set to write the script with the potential Trevorrow, a childhood fan of the original, to direct. That version of the project failed to make it out of development as well.