Since it premiered in theaters in 1984, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension has never received a movie or television follow-up. Given the film generated poor box office returns and mixed critical reviews at the time, this is perhaps not surprising. And yet, tie-in novels, comics and games have been created due to the sustained audience interest in polymath scientist and rock star Dr. Buckaroo Banzai and his backing band, the Hong Kong Cavaliers. In a modern media landscape whose nostalgia for the 1980s has made it ripe for revivals of discarded sci-fi properties, Buckaroo Banzai's tongue-in-cheek superheroics and esoterically eclectic lore might not be too hip for the room any longer.
Buckaroo Banzai Adventures With His Own Avengers While Fighting Stranger Things
Per his film's title, Dr. Banzai's adventures across the 8th dimension see him run afoul of the rival racial factions of interdimensional aliens known as Black and Red Lectroids, whose contested homeworld is the hidden "Planet 10." The viscerally organic aesthetic of the Lectroids' 8th Dimension might remind Stranger Things fans of the dark, decaying mirror reality they've come to know as "the Upside Down." Just as the Mind Flayer and Vecna have attempted to lead invasions from the Upside Down into our world, so too have the Red Lectroids been mobilized by their despotic military leader, Lord John Whorfin. While the human psychokinetic Henry Creel was psychotic long before Eleven and the Upside Down transformed him into Vecna, Whorfin gained a foothold in our universe by possessing the brain of Italian scientist and Princeton professor Dr. Emilio Lizardo.
The recent revival of fellow '80s sci-fi property Quantum Leap shifted from the original show's solo hero and hologram sidekick to a full-fledged ensemble support crew. But Buckaroo Banzai was always about more than just its title character. The Hong Kong Cavaliers weren't just Banzai's backing band but his fellow adventurers. Imagine Tony Stark as the frontman of an Avengers-based musical supergroup. From "Perfect Tommy" and Reno Nevada to Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Sidney Zweibel, aka "New Jersey," each of Banzai's bandmates is heavily implied to be a specialist in their own field of expertise.
Buckaroo Banzai's Dialogue and References Might Have Flown Over '80s Audiences' Heads
Banzai's snappy patter with his Hong Kong Cavaliers might seem prescient to fans of teams such as the Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy in the MCU, or even the Suicide Squad or the support crew for Peacemaker in the DCEU. However, audiences for superhero movies in the 1980s weren't accustomed to seeing their protagonists poke fun at the supposed seriousness of their own adventures, never mind the metafictional boundaries of their genre. Likewise, while the overarching plots of a show like Mr. Robot got away with weaving complex conspiracy theories out of stand-ins for real-life online political movements and mega-corporations, Buckaroo Banzai might have expected too much of contemporary moviegoers by referencing Yoyodyne from Thomas Pynchon's novels. It even claimed Orson Welles' infamous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds was covering up an alien invasion of New Jersey in 1938.
But with channels like Showtime scoring critical acclaim and commercial success for reviving oddball '80s properties like Twin Peaks and "everything but the kitchen sink" nostalgia-fests like Ready Player One taking the time to name-check Banzai's retro fashion sense during key scenes, even mainstream audiences have arguably finally caught up. That makes Buckaroo Banzai overdue for a return to the big screen. The first film even closed with the perfect title for its never-produced sequel -- Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League -- promising to delve further into the backstory already hinted at through Banzai's interactions with Penny Priddy, the twin sister of his late wife. So, suffice it to say, plenty of narrative territory remains in this would-be franchise.