Kevin Smith is developing a Buckaroo Banzai TV series

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

From slashfilm, Kevin Smith is looking to bring the eighth dimension to the small screen.

EW can confirm that the Yoga Hosers and Clerks director is developing a TV series based on The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, the offbeat 1984 sci-fi film that starred Peter Weller as a genius scientist, experimental race car driver, and rock star who saves the world from reptilian aliens.

During the latest episode of his Hollywood Babble-On podcast, Smith said the project came about as a result of his recent gig directing an episode of The Flash, which has “has opened up weird doors” for him. One of those doors, he said, led to a potential Buckaroo Banzaiseries with MGM, which owns the rights to the property. (A spokesperson for the studio declined to comment.)
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Smith is a longtime fan of Buckaroo Banzai, describing it as “one of my favorite movies in the world and largely responsible for the weird s‑‑‑ that I make, because that movie was supposed to be one thing but it did it in another way. It just did it very off-center.”

Written by Earl Mac Rauch and directed by W.D. Richter, the original film is indeed a genre-bending romp, lacing its sci-fi antics with campy comedy delivered in a deadpan tone. The cast also included John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, and Christopher Lloyd.

As for how he’d approach the adaptation, Smith said, “Basically, you just do the entire movie for season 1, and then season 2 you finally do the sequel we’ve all dreamed about, Buckaroo Banzai Versus the World Crime League.” The latter story was teased in the end credits of the original film but never realized.