Sam Rockwell Names Hopeful Alan Rickman Replacement For Tim Allen’s 90% RT Sci-Fi Classic Sequel

Though its status may still be a mystery, Sam Rockwell has a unique idea for who could replace Alan Rickman in a Galaxy Quest sequel series.

The original film was primarily led by Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Rickman as a group of actors from the titular show, a Star Trek-like cult classic, who find themselves beamed up into a real conflict between two alien species who have mistaken them for real adventurers. A modest commercial hit at the time, attempts to make a sequel have hit numerous speedbumps in the 26 years since the original came out.

Now, in an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley for his sci-fi action-comedy Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, Rockwell shared his thoughts on the long-gestating Galaxy Quest sequel series. Admitting that "I don't know what's happening with that" and confirming that Rickman's passing put a big damper on its development, the Oscar winner then shared his thoughts on who could replace his late co-star, turning his attention to another iconic British star:

Sam Rockwell: I don't know what would happen now, but we'd have to get Helen Mirren or somebody. I don't know what's happening with [the Simon Pegg series]. We should definitely do it. I'm game.

In the original Galaxy Quest, Rickman starred as Alexander Dane, a Shakespearean actor who resents his time with the fictional eponymous series. Seemingly inspired by both Leonard Nimoy's Spock and Michael Dorn's Worf from the Star Trek universe, Dane also wears an alien prosthetic headpiece during his adventure, which becomes disheveled and damaged by the end to the point his hair is sticking out in parts.

Attempts to make a Galaxy Quest sequel have gone through a variety of iterations in the years since the original came out, though started gaining steam in the mid 2010s when Paramount Television sought to develop a TV sequel. As previously mentioned, Rickman's death did prove a creative challenge for the team attached to the show to overcome, along with the busy schedules of the original movie's star-studded cast.

Even still, the studio has tried to forge ahead with the Galaxy Quest show with a variety of creatives at the helm, including acclaimed comedian Paul Scheer, Simon Pegg and Georgia Pritchett. The most recent update came in Summer 2025, when it was announced that, in the wake of the Paramount and Skydance merger, there would be two separate TV studios, those being CBS Studios and Paramount TV, and that Galaxy Quest was still in active development at the former.

Interestingly, while Rockwell has cited Helen Mirren as his hopeful idea to pick up Grabthar's Hammer from the late Harry Potter vet, she's not the first name who almost took over for Rickman. As Weaver revealed in late 2025, Benedict Cumberbatch was eyed to play a new "version" of Dane for the Galaxy Quest sequel, describing what she's read as being a funny story, though confessing it to be a strange idea to come back without Rickman.

Though Rockwell's idea of Mirren is more of a hopeful one than a specific pitch, it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility for her to play a similar role to Rickman's in a new Galaxy Quest. The past few years have seen her work with Paramount+ for both the two-season Yellowstone prequel series 1923 and the Guy Ritchie-produced crime thriller MobLand, which has season 2 premiering sometime this year.

Given Galaxy Quest is largely a spoof and homage of the Star Trek franchise, and the original ended with its faux show getting a sequel revival, the real-world sequel series could explain Dane as having passed and Mirren being a character cast to fill the void left by him. This would also give the show's writers the opportunity to pay proper tribute throughout the series without worrying about the hurdles of selling viewers on a recasted character.