20 Things You Didn’t Know About Galaxy Quest

20. The Original Idea… Wasn’t All That Original

Mark Johnson, the film’s producer, loved the central premise of David Howard’s original script… just not the script itself. That’s why he passed it on to Bob Gordon for a rewrite, giving us the movie we know and love today.

The thing is, Howard’s premise isn’t exactly an original take: it’s the basis for 1987’s The Three Amigos, a Magnificent Seven spoof which sees three Hollywood actors famous for playing western heroes, mistaken for actual western heroes by the frightened denizens of a threatened village.

Not only that, but persistent rumour has it that there’s actually an old piece of Star Trek fan fiction which sees the cast of the original series beamed aboard a spacecraft whose inhabitants believe their show is real...