An Amazon sequel series to the cult classic Galaxy Quest has been put on hold because of the passing of one of the original cast: the late Alan Rickman.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Galaxy Quest veteran Sam Rockwell told the Nerdist podcast that plans to begin filming this year were pushed back upon Rickman's passing in January.

“We were ready to sign up, and [then] Alan Rickman passed away and Tim Allen wasn’t available – he has [Last Man Standing] – and everybody’s schedule was all weird," Rockwell said. "It was going to shoot, like, right now. And how do you fill that void of Alan Rickman? That’s a hard void to fill.”


News of a Galaxy Quest revival starring the original cast broke last year, with the original's director, executive producers and co-writer working with Paramount to bring a pilot to Amazon.

The 1999 film was a comedic homage to Star Trek and its fandom, featuring has-been actors who are recruited into a intergalactic war by alien super-fans. Rickman played Alexander Dane, a Nimoy-esque actor frustrated by being typecast by his role as the logical alien, Dr. Lazarus.