The Story of THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI (1984) & the Franchise That Never Was
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After an arduous development process “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension” hit theaters in 1984… barely.
What some saw as the start of a multimedia franchise instead became a footnote in movie history opening in one of the most crowded summers in history.
There was, however, a following for this quirky film and what could have been a sequel or a TV show or… anything… instead became a tangled rights mess and sabotage by one of the people in charge of those rights.
SOURCES:
https://web.archive.org/web/20060322020516/http://www.worldwatchonline.com/ww120th.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20070515141240/http://pages.towson.edu/flynn/banzai.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Buckaroo_Banzai_Across_the_8th_Dimension
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._D._Richter
https://web.archive.org/web/20070515141240/http://pages.towson.edu/flynn/banzai.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20060322020516/http://www.worldwatchonline.com/ww120th.pdf
https://www.figmentfly.com/bb/bbindex.shtml
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086856/trivia/?ref_=tt_dyk_trv
https://www.figmentfly.com/bb/faq2.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20130430003351/http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/08/15/buckaroo-banzai-anniversary-sequel-trivia-director-interview/
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1984W32/?ref_=bo_rl_table_1
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2856945153/weekend/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/488483302/?match=1&terms=buckaroo%20banzai&search-id=10554dbc-190c-4c7f-9080-6e6f63c73a70&search-rank=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/406842026/?match=15&terms=buckaroo%20banzai&search-id=90ce6df0-64ff-433f-8893-b468f2724adc&search-rank=10
https://www.newspapers.com/image/254678696/?match=1&terms=buckaroo%20banzai&search-id=90ce6df0-64ff-433f-8893-b468f2724adc&search-rank=25
https://www.newspapers.com/image/939423741/?match=2&terms=buckaroo%20banzai&search-id=90ce6df0-64ff-433f-8893-b468f2724adc&search-rank=37
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1356256610/?match=1&terms=buckaroo%20banzai&search-id=90ce6df0-64ff-433f-8893-b468f2724adc&search-rank=54
https://comicbook.com/comicbook/news/kevin-smith-walks-away-from-buckaroo-banzai-tv-series-after-mgm/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/buckaroo-banzai-creators-claim-mgm-infringed-copyright-by-shopping-tv-series-986651/
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@SecretGalaxyTV
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
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@CrappyCar
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
A man out of time, a movie with no future, I loved it. Many fond memories of watching horrible and wonderful movies like this with my dad.
@TomDenneyArt
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Someone should do it with AI
@xheralt
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
"Smash the window!"
"Why me, John Bigbootay?"
"It might be booby-trapped."
"Oh." {smashes the window}
@phillipbernhardt-house6907
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I remember being excited about it in 1984, but because my parents didn't understand what it was supposed to be, they didn't let us see it in the cinema. We rented it on VHS when it came out, and enjoyed it (at least my brother and I did!), but they still didn't get it. I have been a fan of it ever since, and still quote Dr. Lizardo and other bits of the film with some regularity. What a film! Thanks for doing this excellent piece! 🙂
@AdamaSanguine
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
We need someone, an individual or a company, with an obscene amount of money to just simply green light everything.
Then, let whoever "owns" the rights come out from under their rock to stop it or give their blessing.
After that, if they want to "stop" it, let the surviving cast work their magic and leak it to social media to let it cook!
If no one tries to stop it, but then later wants a cut, just give it to them. Even if it means taking a loss!
Worst case scenario, the fans will get their sequel or "reboot." Best case scenario, it will do gang busters and more people will experience the world of Buckaroo Banzai.
(Basically, the afformentioned champion would need to be an Elon Musk type. Not necessarily an ultra billionaire.
But one that's either so eccentric and independently wealthy that they just don't care! Of course, being genuinely a good person and quick to respond, would be ideal.)
*And yes, I realize that this "ideal person" is probably more fictitious and less likely to come forward than the movie itself! lol xD
Unless, the afformentioned archetype person, turned out to be the ACTUAL Elon Musk himself! You know, the physical manifestation / embodiment of both Bruce Wayne and / or Tony Stark! =P
I've had a lot of coffee today…
@Iskelderon
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
The Star Trek connection ended up going a lot deeper. Around 2000, the visual effects studio and several art department regulars from the franchise tried to revive the franchise as a TV show and even produced CG test footage and other pitch material. That's the effort you mentioned near the end of your video.
@ScottFunk-jy4qm
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
A movie created by nerds for nerds, with the exception of Bagelman and Fox who didn't have enough IQ to scratch their keisters.
@nightmayor6114
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
53 seconds in and this guy is already a neurosurgeon, physicist and a martial artist.
@DNOstalgia
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
20:54 O{+> 💜💜💜💜💜
@mediamonarchyplus
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I feel like we really missed an opportunity for a See you at the party Richter cutaway here
@jamiecashes
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
this movie is great, so underrated
@shaunrene1
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Wow this show is fascinating, iam going to cheak it out! It tap danced over my 8 year old radar in the 80s, i was locked in with an invasion series called "V", and the Swamp Thing tv show. Thanks Dan!
@DNOstalgia
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
09:05 O{+> 💜💜💜💜
@aarongrindlay1334
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
When I was around 11/12, and my brother and dad were away at Cub camp, mom and I went to rent some movies and I couldn't settle on anything. My mom grabbed Buckaroo Banzai, telling me I'd like it and she was absolutely right. I soon found the Marvel comics and a VHS copy and treasured them. Upgraded to DVD as soon as it was released (and found the novelization), stayed on top of all the modern comics and got Against the World Crime League on release
@vladyvhv9579
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I love that the watermelon is just there to see what they could get away with putting into the movie.
@fletchbundy
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Born in '82 but this movie flew by me. I have 5 older siblings, up to 15 or more years older than me so I saw a lot of cool stuff like the Hughes movies as a kid but also things like The Wraith. I didn't see this until a pal gave it to me in like 2004 or so. I still want to know what yhe watermelon is for.
@Armageist
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
It was ahead of its time imo. Should've been a comic series first.
It felt like it was an Indie Comic or Graphic Novel first and then made into a movie thereafter, like Tank Girl.
But so many unique Characters, just definitely gives that Manga or Comic feel.
@Arkticsnowman
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I thought I was getting old, but I'm not angry-because-they-changed-my-phone-icons old. Lol. That almost made me watch the ad instead of skipping it.
@AssberryFartman
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I was 8 and saw it in the theater, so to me this guy was Buck Roger or Indiana Jones level awesome.
At least Kevin Smith never got to make his abortion of a sequel.
@thomasgrieve1924
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Lithgow gives a tour de force performance in this
He somehow does three accents at the same time
@romcarlos13
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
The ad read made me feel old (I am), I'm never watching again (I'll tune in next video)
@brianknight7897
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Great movie, but basically a modern version of Doc Savage.
@DaveMiller2
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I saw this in the theater, twice. It's a great film. It was just too hip and too intellectual for most people.
@hochebriones2
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I watched this when I was a kid. Peter’s look rivalled that of Indiana Jones. Even the name and its graphic Buckaroo Banzai was incredibly cool. But the story and the way it was directed really was so weird and quirky it had me scratching my head.
@Priestmajic
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Now it makes sense why that movie makes no sense. Too much stuff happening to even try to make sense of it. When I was little and watched the movie, I didn't like it cuz it was just too confusing. 🎥🎬🤔
@MultiAbstrak
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I saw it for the first time (only time) when i was 22. My friend's mother insisted that i had to. and yeah, i felt the same way. If i had seen it as a kid i would of probably liked it. When trying to describe it to my family, i said: It's like when you're a kid and you take all your toys and make up a story based on the tv shows you saw. and just smash them all together. Sorta like Toy Story. But good.
@OneOfInfiniteMonkeys
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
"Yakov Smirnov."
In Soviet Russia, Banzai Buckaroos YOU.
@dharkling
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
14:14 always thought Gremlins was a Christmas movie around Halloween. Or the other way around, I’m nuts.
@chrislail3824
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I just watched this two days ago with my gf. She had never seen it before and loved it.
@byronjohnson4359
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I’m sure it’s been suggested and you’re making a plan but I’d love to see a Peter Cullen biography
@PaulFlavell-b1u
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I LOVE this movie
@redfive5856
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Just hoping Ketchup Entertainment gets ahold of the rights.
@Grizabeebles
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
What I would do if I had the movie rights:
Buckaroo Banzai vs Invader Zim
@dw2art
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
00:49 Pee-Wee Herman suit?
@wesleygleason5868
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
What happened to franchise movies?! You can make Scream a million times, but no Buckaroo?! Boo!!!! 🤨👎
@Argumedies
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
you really need to do a full tribute to Peter Optimus Prime Cullen.
@redfive5856
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Té, té, té!
@waifyandrogyne
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Why is there a watermelon there?
@denniscolato
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I’m barely remember watching it maybe on vhs or tv. Too weird at that age but I really got hooked by the end credits scene’s music. I recorded it on tape off the tv, I was so good.
@actionvestadventure
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Got to meet Peter Weller a few years ago at Fan Expo and made sure to wear my Buckaroo Banzai shirt. Which made me happy when he called it out heh.
Also, W. D. Richter would go on to be one of the writers of another of my all time fav movies, Big Trouble In Little China. I had heard a rumour at some point he was going to make a small reference to Burton being a Blue Blaze Irregular hehe.
@waterandafter
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
I say just make a movie/tv show/ comic/toys and let whomever thinks they hold the rights can come and sue.
@stardogbillionaire
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
This movie sounds so conceptually crazy and then it just ends up being rather boring.
@polly_sacharride
September 4, 2026 at 7:03 am
Back then my extended family would all gather together a few times a year, July 4th, Christmas and Thanksgiving. During those gatherings they'd always go watch a movie together over the weekend. Thanksgiving 1984 the movie they picked was Buckaroo Banzai. I was left behind supposedly to "help babysit the younger kids" but really because the family thought I was "weird". They absolutely hated it and thinking it would be some sort of insult said it was stupid and that I'd "probably love it". Turns out though, the joke's on them, I did love it. Still do. 🤣