10 Failed Space Operas That Bombed With Mainstream Audiences
9. May The Fail Be With You - Battle Beyond The Stars (1980)
Throughout his career, schlockmeister kingpin Roger Corman kept his finger on the pulse of the box office, slapping together ripped off features to exploit the latest trends. In 1980, George Lucas premiered the first sequel to Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, earning massive box office success. The same year, true to form, Corman released his own space opera to ride on the coattails of Lucas triumph: Battle Beyond The Stars. Battle Beyond the Stars tells the low-budget tale of Shad, a pilot tasked with bringing together a group of mercenaries to defend his home planet from an evil space tyrant. The cheapness of the production shines through in every aspect of the feature, including the comically unconvincing alien makeup and the bizarre design of Shads ship, which looks like a pair of boobs floating through space. Battle Beyond the Stars received lukewarm reviews and failed to make a splash with mainstream audiences. However, the film garnered a cult following. Roger Cormans willingness to cannibalize footage from his own features ensured that Battle Beyond the Stars had a lasting legacy; Corman regurgitated footage from Battle in films throughout the 80s, most notoriously in the next failed space opera on our list.
