At a time when American comics were becoming more grim and gritty, The Rocketeer<\/a><\/strong> was a throwback to the medium\u2019s pulp roots. The series\u2019 retro style inspired a devout following and, in 1991, a cult classic cinematic adaptation. Since then, fans have hoped for a follow-up film. Unfortunately for them, the long-awaited return of The Rocketeer has come in another form.<\/p>\n Created by writer\/artist Dave Stevens<\/a> in 1982, the high-flying hero became a cult figure in the independent comics market of the 1980s. First appearing as a back-up feature in Starslayer, daredevil pilot Cliff Secord went on to headline his own series. The comic was a hit, though Stevens was beset by publication problems and moved the franchise through five different publishers before his death in 2008.<\/p>\n (Image Source: IDW Publishing \/ Dave Stevens)<\/p>\n The efforts to produce a sequel to The Rocketeer movie have been equally troubled. The movie had originally been planned as the first in a trilogy. However, it was not as profitable as Walt Disney Pictures<\/a> had hoped. Two decades later they reconsidered, and began developing a sequel in 2012. A succession of screenwriters, directors, and revamp ideas followed.<\/p>\n The latest effort, The Return of the Rocketeer<\/a>, would have centered upon a former Tuskegee Airman who took up Cliff Secord\u2019s jetpack. However, the effort stalled after director J.D. Dillard backed out of the project in 2022. Reportedly actor David Oyelowo\u00a0and his wife\u00a0Jessica<\/a>\u00a0are still producing the picture and he may play the lead role. Despite this, the adventure will continue in The Rocketeer: The Island \u2013 a new comic based on an unpublished outline by Dave Stevens.<\/p>\n (Image Source: IDW Publishing \/ Jacob Edgar and K.J. Diaz)<\/p>\n The Rocketeer: The Island will find Cliff Secord taking on a mission of mercy. Set in 1938, the story finds Cliff taking on a mission to find Amelia Earhart, who disappeared the year before. The quest takes him to the titular island, which is full of mysteries and surprises.<\/p>\n The Rocketeer: The Island will be published by IDW Publishing<\/a>, who have held the character\u2019s comic book rights since 2008. The script is being adapted from Stevens\u2019 outline by Eisner Award-winning writer\u00a0John Layman<\/a>. The artwork will be provided by artist\u00a0Jacob Edgar <\/a>and colorist K.J. D\u00edaz<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPlaying in Dave Stevens\u2019 world, a retro-world of charm, humor and rocket-fueled adventure, has been an absolute blast,\u201d noted Layman. \u201cAs an artist Stevens was an absolute virtuoso, and I feel like Rocketeer is an all-time classic comic character \u2014 he\u2019s always been one of my favorites.\u201d These feelings were echoed by Jacob Edgar, who described The Rocketeer as \u201can iconic character with a very high bar to try and live up to, artistically.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rocketeer: The Island #1 arrives in comic book stores everywhere<\/a> on February 25, 2026.<\/p>\n Originally reported by Matt Morrison on SuperHeroHype.<\/a><\/p>\n The post The Rocketeer Makes Surprising Return as Fans Wait for Movie Sequel<\/a> appeared first on ComingSoon.net – Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At a time when American comics were becoming more grim and gritty, The Rocketeer was a throwback to the medium\u2019s pulp roots. The series\u2019 retro style inspired a devout following and, in 1991, a cult classic cinematic adaptation. Since then, fans have hoped for a follow-up film. Unfortunately for them, the long-awaited return of The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2158705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[389694,413536,413537,389693,368740],"class_list":["post-2158704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-cliff-secord","tag-dave-stevens","tag-jacob-edgar","tag-the-rocketeer","tag-walt-disney-pictures"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-Rocketeer-Makes-Surprising-Return-as-Fans-Wait-for-Movie.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2158704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2158706,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158704\/revisions\/2158706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2158705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2158704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2158704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2158704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/span><\/div>\n
What do we know about The Rocketeer: The Island?<\/h2>\n
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