I'm a big fan of Joe Johnston's 1991 '30s era adventure movie The Rocketeer. And as always, I'm a big fan of attempts to reimagine classic properties in novel ways. But while I could see a reboot of The Rocketeer happening, either on the big screen or the small one, I never expected it to arrive in quite this way.

Disney Junior announced that they have begun production on The Rocketeer, a new animated adventure series for young kids and their families that will makes its debut in 2019. That's all well and good, but here's where things get interesting: "Inspired by Dave Stevens' popular comic book series,The Rocketeer follows Kit, a young girl who receives a surprise package on her birthday revealing she's next in line to become the Rocketeer, a legendary superhero who has the ability to fly with the help of a rocket-powered jet pack. Armed with her cool new gear and secret identity, Kit is ready to take flight and save the day with her gadget-minded best friend, Tesh, and airplane mechanic uncle, Ambrose, who join her on her epic adventures." Definitely not what I, nor anyone else, was expecting, but if this turns into a pro-S.T.E.A.M. series that inspires young viewers to get into science-based fields, all the better!

The announcement was made today by Joe D'Ambrosia, senior vice president, Original Programming, Disney Junior. He had this to say:

"We are very excited to introduce 'The Rocketeer' to our young Disney Junior audience. The vast storytelling found in the original comic books provides the perfect opportunity to create an exciting new adventure series told from a young girl superhero perspective that the whole family can enjoy together."

The reimagined story will be aimed towards kids 2-7 and their families, a bit different from the PG-rated original movie and definitely different from the comics-reading crowd. Each episode of The Rocketeer will feature two 11-minute stories and include an original song. Nicole Dubuc (Transformers: Rescue Bots) is on board as executive producer, and the series will be produced by Wild Canary in association with Disney Junior.

Will you be checking in on the new version of The Rocketeer just to see how it pans out? Let us know in the comments!