Almost thirty years after it first stormed theaters, the open-ended conclusion of Joe Dante‘s 1998 action-figure epic Small Soldiers has been expanded upon by one of the film’s screenwriters. When asked by a fan on Twitter if the film’s action-figure protagonists ever reached their destination, Adam Rifkin answered in the enthusiastic affirmative. Rifkin wrote the film with Gavin Scott, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio.

Small Soldiers centers around two warring factions of action figures inadvertently given military-grade artificial intelligence chips: in the end, the heroic Gorgonites set out to seek their home planet, Gorgon. Of course, the planet Gorgon was a product of toy-company marketers, and never existed, but when they find a picture of Yellowstone National Park, they believe it to be the “real” Gorgon; Rifkin (whose other credits include Mouse Hunt and The Last Movie Star) insists that, in some sense, the Gorgonites made it home. As the film was a critical and box-office disappointment in the summer of 1998, this is likely the only way the movie’s fans will get any closure.

What Is ‘Small Soldiers’ About?

A toy company CEO (Denis Leary) commissions two designers (Jay Mohr and David Cross) to put together a new line of smart toys. The resulting product line features the heroic Commando Elite, a paramilitary force led by Major Chip Hazard (voiced by Tommy Lee Jones), and pits them against the misshapen alien Gorgonites, led by Archer (voiced by Frank Langella). They end up in the hands of teenager Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith), only for the ruthless Commando Elite to awaken and go to extreme measures to destroy the peaceful Gorgonites. Alan’s family and that of his neighbor/crush Christy (Kirsten Dunst) get caught in the crossfire. The film is notable as the last on-screen role for Phil Hartman, who plays Christy’s father and was murdered two months before the movie’s premiere; the film was dedicated to his memory.

Budgeted at $40 million USD, the film was a financial letdown, taking in $71 million at the global box office, as was its associated line of (non-murderous) action figures. Critical reviews were mixed: it currently holds a 51% Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Nevertheless, a Justin Lin-produced remake of the film was mooted at 20th Century Fox before its acquisition by Disney, who cancelled the project.

Small Soldiers is streaming on Hoopla, and is available to rent or buy from most major digital outlets.

via Collider