George Clooney in the 25th Century? It could happen. It was revealed today that George Clooney and his Smokehouse Pictures partner Grant Heslov have boarded Legendary's Buck Rogers TV reboot as executive producers, but the more interesting twist is that the project is apparently being developed as a potential starring vehicle for the actor. At this point, there are no deals in place, but it would definitely be an interesting move for Clooney. The Buck Rogers project will be a "prestige limited-series" that is currently being penned by Brian K. Vaughan and the intention is that it would lead into a feature-film and an anime series if it does well.
Buck Rogers was first created by Philip Francis Nowlan in 1928 for an issue of Amazing Stories, most know of the character thanks to the short-lived TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century which was developed by Battlestar Galactica's Glen A. Larson. The original take on Buck Rogers told the story of a man who fell into suspended animation after becoming trapped in a coal mine, and after waking up close to 500 in the future, Rogers was enlisted to help fight a war between gangs in what was once America. The 1979-81 TV series transformed Rogers into a NASA/USAF pilot who was accidentally frozen for over 500 years before being revived in the year 2491. With the help of Colonel Wilma Deering and Dr. Theopolis, a sentient computer carried around by Twiki, a small robot, Buck Rogers went on various missions to protect the planet.
George Clooney was recently seen in The Midnight Sky, which he also directed. The Netflix film followed parallel stories of "Augustine (Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, and an astronaut on board the Aether spacecraft, which is trying to return home to Earth, as Augustine races to make contact with the spaceship." You can check out a review of The Midnight Sky from our own Chris Bumbray right here.