The Last Starfighter - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Last Starfighter or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Last Starfighter

[linda]

Robert Preston and Dan O'Herlihy had never met before this movie. When they finally met on the set, O'Herlihy was already in Grig make-up, with a full-head mask. O'Herlihy introduced himself, and Preston jokingly replied that of course he recognized O'Herlihy, because he had "one of those faces".

[bernice]

Ron Cobb who designed the car that Centauri drives was originally picked to design the time machine for Back to the Future.

[sylvia]

There is precedent for the Starfighter to be in command of the GunStar, rather than the Navigator. During World War II, the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) had the Bomb Aimer as the aircraft commander, so he could be in a better position to direct the aircraft. The Last Starfighter follows this practice.

[oscar]

Robin Williams was offered the role of Xur, but passed.

[jamie]

This was Robert Preston's last movie appearance.

[gabriel]

As of 2020, a reboot or sequel to this film has yet to come to fruition, despite talks of there being one. This is presumably due to legal issues, as Universal, Warner Bros. (successor-in-interest to Lorimar), and screenwriter Jonathan R. Betuel all claim to own sequel/remake rights to the property.

[addison]

Nick Castle, Lance Guest, and Dan O'Herlihy had all previously been in the "Halloween" film franchise. Castle played Michael Myers in "Halloween" (1978), Guest played Jimmy in "Halloween II" (1981), and O'Herlihy played Conal Cochran in "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" (1982).

[carl]

Lance Guest was cast as Alex Rogan because of his James Stewart and Henry Fonda qualities.

[morris]

Although Wil Wheaton's speaking scenes were cut, he can be seen in two scenes, running around the trailer park early in the film (wearing a red football jersey), and in the final scene, where he is obscured, standing behind Louis (wearing a blue jacket, possibly over the red jersey).

[kristen]

Galoob created prototype action figures for the movie, but they were never produced, because retailers didn't believe the film would be successful. The figures included Alex (trailer park and Starfighter outfits), Maggie, Centauri, Grig, Xur, Kril, a Kodan, the tentacled Starfighter, the two Xandoxans, and Endurian. They were planned to be released in two-figure packs. Ultimately, the film was a modest success, but by then, it was too late to produce the toys.

[liam]

Lance Guest was chosen as the lead after director Nick Castle saw him in post-production for Halloween II. He was looking for the right actor to star as Alex and after seeing Halloween II during the editing sessions in post, he asked his friend John Carpenter who that actor was. He felt he had the everyman qualities of a young Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper that he wanted and subsequently decided to cast him in the role.

[morris]

Released a few years after the alleged release of the mysterious arcade game "Polybius", which allegedly caused epileptic seizures and nightmares amongst the children who played it. The existence of this game has never been proven, but there are strong similarities between the plot of the movie and the Polybius conspiracy that is still alive on various online forums.

[bryan]

The small box-shaped robot, shown after Alex gets his uniform on Rylos, is a Heathkit H.E.R.O. 1 robot (H.E.R.O. was an acronym for Heathkit Educational RObot). The kit (which required extensive assembly) sold for fifteen hundred dollars, while the fully assembled robot sold for twenty-five hundred dollars.

[francisco]

In 2009, it was announced that a long-awaited sequel (titled "Starfighter") was going into production. The film would take place twenty-five years after the original film, with Norman Snow confirmed to return as Xur. Ultimately, the sequel was never made. It may have followed a grown-up Louis Rogan, who misses his brother, and is brought to Rylos to become a Starfighter, or it may have involved Alex and Maggie's Rylos-born son or daughter, who sets out to settle a score with Xur, when Alex is killed during a Ko-Dan attack.

[claude]

Beta Alex was written to give the film originality.

[riley]

All visual effects (not practical effects like make-up and explosions) were made on a Cray X-MP computer.

[carl]

Cinematographer King Baggot stands in as Alex's father in a family photo used in the movie.

[amber]

In addition to the major "Star Trek universe" roles later played by "Starfighter" cast members Wil Wheaton and Marc Alaimo, several others in the movie's cast guest starred in various "Star Trek" franchises. They include Dan Mason, Barbara Bosson, Norman Snow, and Geoffrey Blake. But notable among them is Meg Wyllie ("Granny Gordon") who played one of the Talosian "keepers" in the Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) pilot, Star Trek: The Original Series: The Cage (1986).

[javier]

The "Star Car" that Centauri drives is based on a DeLorean, including its gull wing doors and its stainless steel construction.