Where is the Buckaroo Banzai sequel "Buckaroo Banzai against the World Crime League"?
Although there were apparently outlines for the proposed sequel
"Buckaroo Banzai Against The World Crime League", no script was
written by Earl Mac Rauch.
A comic book based sequel to the film, called Return of the Screw, has been written by Earl Mac Rauch and W.D. Richter and published by Moonstone Publishing.
Generally, the fault for a lack of a film sequel is lain at the feet of David Begelman, who ran Gladden Entertainment at the time The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai was released. It seems he actively blocked any attempts to produce "Against The World Crime League" though an interview with director W.D. Richter said investors had been willing to put up money for one.
Another reason given for Begelman's refusal is possibly shady business practices on his part, which he feared would've been brought to light if paperwork for a sequel was started. Whether that's true or not, we'll never know. The following article quote was found on AOL's EXTRA OnLine in 1995 :
DAVID BEGELMAN (b. 1922) He represented the two extremes of a movie exec's existence: spending and despair. As president of Columbia Pictures in the '70s, David Begelman oversaw a number of key films: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Taxi Driver, Shampoo. At some point, personal demons decreed that he embezzle money from his own studio: $40,000 he had no need for.
The 1977 scandal, chronicled in David McClintick's _Indecent Exposure_, brought him down, and though he was back in power within two years, his luck had deserted him--and that is the only crime that matters in Hollywood. After a stint at MGM in the early '80s, he ran two small production companies. In 1994, after one of them filed for bankruptcy, despair closed in.
Begelman booked a room at the Los Angeles Century Plaza Hotel and shot himself. He was 73.
On January 12th, The Nerdist website announced Dark Horse Announces BUCKAROO BANZAI Sequel Novel! You can order the novel on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you buy your books. The audio book of the Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League novel is now available at Audiobookstore.com and Audible.com!
DARK HORSE PRESENTS THE RETURN OF BUCKAROO BANZAI
01/12/2021 11:11am
The Cult Classic Recieves its Long-Awaited Sequel From 'Buckaroo
Banzai' Creator E.M. Rauch
The long-anticipated sequel to the sci-fi novel and motion
picture The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th
Dimension is finally here! As told by the Reno Kid to Buckaroo
Banzai chronicler E.M. Rauch (Buckaroo Banzai novelist and
screenwriter), this novel reintroduces everyone’s favorite
scientist-surgeon-entertainer-daredevil as he sets off on a
brand-new hair-raising adventure in Buckaroo Banzai Against the
World Crime League, et al: A Compendium of
Evils!
Still mourning the losses of his beloved Penny Priddy and his
surrogate father Professor Hikita, Buckaroo Banzai must also
contend with the constant threat of attack from his immortal
nemesis Hanoi Xan, ruthless leader of the World Crime League. To
make matters worse, Planet 10 warrior queen John Emdall has sent
her Lectroid legions against Earth with a brutal ultimatum. Or
is her true target Buckaroo Banzai? As the apocalyptic threats
continue to mount, only Buckaroo and his Hong Kong Cavaliers
stand in the way of global destruction—or in the words of one of
the movie’s iconic lines: “Laugh-a while you can, monkey boy!”
Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League is a 544-page
hardcover prose novel and will retail for $29.99. It will be
available everywhere books are sold August 10, 2021. It is
available for pre-order on Amazon,
Barnes
& Noble, and at your local comic shop and bookstore.
Praise for Buckaroo Banzai and Earl Mac Rauch:
“At [The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th
Dimension’s] best, which it frequently is, it's a lunatic ball,
an extremely genial, witty example of what is becoming a movie
genre all its own.”–The New York Times
“The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension has
become a movie that is the embodiment of ‘nerd’ culture.”–Minty
Comedic Arts
“From the moment you open The Hardest of the Hard, writer Earl
Mac Rauch hooks you and keeps you reading page after
page.”–Comics Bulletin
(Anyone have any more information? E-mail Sean at figment@figmentfly.com.)
This page was last updated on August 18th, 2022.
Maintained by Sean Murphy [figment@figmentfly.com]