Disney looks like it’s about to lose the rights to one of its most beloved superhero films. The Rocketeer Trust has filed notice to reclaim The Rocketeer from Disney represented by Jennifer Bawcum, sister of the late Dave Stevens, creator of the character, is invoking a clause in federal copyright law that allows creators and their heirs to reclaim properties that were licensed 35 years ago
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The notice was reportedly served on June 11, 2026, and the termination is to take effect June 12, 2028. The filing names several Disney subsidiaries and six original Rocketeer copyright registrations. The derivative-works exception means Disney can still distribute its existing productions, but any new sequels or reboots after the termination would require Disney to obtain the rights. Still, Disney could strike a new deal with the trust.
The 1991 film directed by Joe Johnston starred Billy Campbell as stunt pilot Cliff Secord, who discovers an experimental jetpack stolen from Howard Hughes, played by Lost’s Terry O’Quinn. The famed aviator would later have his own biopic, sans rocket pack, with Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes. In 1938 Hollywood, Cliff saves his girlfriend Jenny, Dark Matter’s Jennifer Connelly, from a Nazi spy masquerading as a movie star played by former Bond Timothy Dalton and becomes a masked hero. The movie was the opening film for Disney’s El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. It failed to take flight at the box office but became a cult hit on video and DVD. Johnston went on to direct another period superhero adventure, but for the MCU, Captain America: The First Avenger.
Disney Has Been Trying to Revive The Rocketeer for Years
Disney has been trying to get a Rocketeer sequel off the ground for much of the last decade. In 2016, the studio began developing The Rocketeers, featuring a new pilot succeeding Cliff Secord. That eventually evolved into The Return of the Rocketeer, with David Oyelowo attached to star and J.D. Dillard directing. The project stalled in 2025. More recently, The Batman Part II screenwriter Mattson Tomlin revealed that he and Dillard pitched Disney a real-time sequel featuring 100 minutes of a Rocketeer fighting fascists. Disney passed, leaving another potential revival grounded.
Disney did manage to revive the franchise in 2019, albeit as a Disney Junior animated series. The show followed Cliff’s great-granddaughter, Kit, with original star Billy Campbell returning to voice her father. It lasted one season, providing an unexpected continuation nearly three decades after the movie:
The character has seen more action in comics via IDW Publishing, with the Rocketeer Trust already handling that side of Stevens’ creation. The filing for termination does not jeopardize the character’s ongoing comic book publication. It’s similar to Disney’s recent loss of Roger Rabbit. In 2025, creator Gary K. Wolf invoked the same copyright provision to reclaim the rights to his characters. Wolf has since looked at new projects, including a possible live-action Jessica Rabbit movie. Similar copyright termination efforts complicated the Friday the 13th franchise, although its rights holders have since reached arrangements to develop new projects, like the hit show Crystal Lake.
The filing does not necessarily mean that Disney’s involvement with The Rocketeer is over. The studio could reach another agreement, or the character could search for a new home elsewhere. There is also the possibility, albeit remote, that Disney will rush another project into production before the 2028 deadline, allowing it to retain distribution rights under the derivative-works exception. After 35 years and several failed revivals, the Rocketeer’s next flight may finally be out of Disney’s hands.
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