Disney could soon lose the rights to The Rocketeer, the beloved superhero property that the company has repeatedly failed to revive despite more than three decades of opportunities.
According to a new report from Boardwalk Times, The Rocketeer Trust, representing the estate of original creator Dave Stevens, has initiated the process of reclaiming the character’s underlying copyright rights from Walt Disney Pictures.
The trust, overseen by Stevens’ sister Jennifer Bawcum, reportedly served Disney with a Notice of Termination under Section 203 of the Copyright Act on June 11, 2026.
The termination is scheduled to take effect on June 12, 2028, potentially ending Disney’s ability to produce new Rocketeer projects without negotiating another licensing agreement.
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The notice reportedly covers six foundational copyright registrations and identifies numerous Disney subsidiaries and licensing partners, including Walt Disney Television, Hollywood Records, Funko, and Diamond Select Toys.
Under federal copyright law, creators and their statutory heirs can reclaim certain previously licensed rights after approximately 35 years.
However, the notice does not mean Disney has already lost the property, and its ultimate legal effect remains subject to the applicable copyright requirements.
Disney’s Decades of Failed Rocketeer Revivals
Released in 1991, Joe Johnston’s The Rocketeer starred Billy Campbell as Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers an experimental rocket pack and becomes an unlikely superhero in 1930s Hollywood.
The film also starred Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton, and Alan Arkin.
Although it struggled commercially during its original theatrical run, The Rocketeer eventually developed a devoted following thanks to its old-fashioned adventure, memorable characters, and James Horner’s outstanding musical score.
Despite that popularity, Disney never delivered a theatrical sequel.
Instead, the studio repeatedly attempted to reinvent the property.
The Rocketeer – Disney
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In 2016, Disney began developing The Rocketeers, a proposed continuation featuring a new female protagonist replacing Cliff Secord.
That project eventually gave way to The Return of the Rocketeer, a Disney+ production involving David Oyelowo as a former Tuskegee Airman who inherits the heroic mantle.
The project was ultimately shelved.
More recently, The Batman Part II screenwriter Mattson Tomlin revealed that he and filmmaker J.D. Dillard had pitched Disney a real-time Rocketeer sequel.
Disney rejected that proposal as well.
The company did produce a Disney Junior animated series in 2019, but it lasted only one season.
Could The Rocketeer Finally Escape Disney?
If the termination takes effect, Disney could retain the ability to distribute its existing Rocketeer productions under copyright law’s derivative-works exception.
However, producing new adaptations based on the reclaimed material would generally require another agreement with the rights holders.
That could allow The Rocketeer Trust to negotiate with another Hollywood studio interested in reviving the franchise.
For longtime fans, that possibility might actually be welcome news.
Disney has spent 35 years attempting to reinvent a character whose original cinematic incarnation remains beloved. Rather than delivering the straightforward adventure audiences have been waiting for, the company repeatedly pursued replacement protagonists and abandoned projects.
The Rocketeer – Disney
There is nothing inherently wrong with expanding the mythology, but those efforts mean little when audiences never get another movie.
Now, Disney faces the possibility of losing the underlying rights without ever producing a proper theatrical sequel.
Perhaps another studio will finally recognize what made Dave Stevens’ creation special in the first place. After decades of being grounded at Disney, The Rocketeer deserves another opportunity to fly.
How do you feel about Disney losing The Rocketeer? Sound off and let us know!
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