Though we live in the age of “newstalgia,” whereby old shows and movies are re-presented to younger audiences as if they were new, the truth is that Hollywood has been in the newstalgia game since its inception. Sure, streaming has taken the industry’s over-reliance on leveraging existing IP to stratospheric heights, but studios have always turned to established franchises and hits in order to navigate their way through the uncertain waters of the box office.

“Lost in Space” is a great example. What began as a 1965-68 CBS TV series has been revisited multiple times since it first aired, with plans for reunion TV movies almost coming to fruition. But it wasn’t until the late ’90s that anyone would actually produce new “Lost in Space” content that made it out to the masses. Lamentably, this was not one of Hollywood’s most successful revisits.

Created by producer Irwin Allen and based on the 1812 Johann David Wyss novel “The Swiss Family Robinson,” the “Lost in Space” series became a considerable hit for CBS back in the ’60s. Though it never quite reached the heights of its contemporary, “Star Trek,” the show about a family and their robot being marooned in deep space struck enough of a chord that many from that generation recall it as an important part of the cultural fabric of the time. Syndication deals ensured the cult hit remained in the public consciousness in some form for the ensuing decades, even though “Lost in Space,” which at one point featured a young Kurt Russell, never quite became the sensation CBS no doubt hoped it would when it passed over “Star Trek” in favor of Allen’s show about cosmic colonists forced to survive in uncharted space. The show lasted three seasons before being cancelled in 1968.

In the late ’90s, New Line decided that “Lost in Space” nostalgia combined with the appeal of the sci-fi genre in general provided fertile ground for a revival of the long-since cancelled series in the form of a blockbuster movie starring Gary Oldman, William Hurt, and a “Friends” star at the height of his powers. Everything seemed to be in place for the “Lost in Space” movie to become the phenomenon it had always seemed capable of being. So what happened?

When New Line decided to revive the “Lost in Space” IP in the late ’90s, the company was all-in on the idea. At the time, the original “Lost in Space” series had been running consistently on the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy) since July 1993, holding down the 9am spot and, in New Line’s view, ensuring a new generation of viewers became acquainted with the show. But it was older fans, who’d grown up with the Robinson family, that New Line was really eager to engage. Prior to the movie’s launch, the studio’s TV president, Bob Friedman, explained the thinking behind the project to Variety, saying, “There are 70 million baby boomers out there who remember the original ‘Lost in Space’ because it combines family adventure with sci-fi action.”

In addition to the nostalgia element, New Line evidently based their hopes for the film’s success on the observation that half the top 10 box office hits of all time were sci-fi or sci-fi adjacent: “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jurassic Park,” “Star Wars,” “Return of the Jedi,” and “Independence Day.” Surely, then, “Lost in Space” was destined for box office success.

New Line certainly thought so. Friedman even revealed to Variety that he was in negotiations with a network to produce two TV series off the back of the movie, one animated and one live-action, with the TV exec noting how both “The Mask” and “Dumb & Dumber,” two then-recent New Line hits, had produced successful animated spin-offs. A “major advertiser” had even been lined up to buy advertising time on the shows. Then, there were the merchandise deals, which would see the company responsible for producing “Independence Day” toys pumping out “Lost in Space” action figures, while publishers signed up to produce a series of books.

Meanwhile, “Friends” star Matt LeBlanc was hired to boost the movie’s appeal among younger viewers. The actor had yet to really break out of his role as Joey Tribbiani on the legendary NBC sitcom, which at the time was as popular as it had ever been (which is to say, nothing short of a global sensation). Not only was “Lost in Space” set to turn the IP itself into a full-fledged franchise, then, it was also poised to be the movie that turned LeBlanc from a beloved TV friend into a bonafide movie star. What could possibly go wrong?

In order to ensure the success of “Lost in Space,” New Line was intent upon updating the image of the campy ’60s series, bringing in the venerable effects company Industrial Light & Magic to create the visual effects alongside Jim Henson Productions for the creatures. With William Hurt in the lead role of Professor John Robinson and Gary Oldman playing villain Doctor Zachary Smith, Matt LeBlanc ensured audiences were also given some dashing leading man energy with his portrayal of maverick pilot Major Don West.

When the movie debuted on April 3, 1998, things certainly didn’t look too bad. “Lost in Space” was the unlikely flop that actually managed to dethrone “Titanic” at the box office, and it wound up making $136 million on an $80 million budget. But a flop, it was. Multiple cameos by surviving actors from the original series “Lost in Space” series couldn’t save the movie from being savaged by critics, who decried New Line’s attempts to update the campy original and take the whole thing seriously. Stephen Hopkins’ direction also failed to impress reviewers, who collectively bestowed a lowly 27% Rotten Tomatoes score on the film. Needless to say, “Lost in Space” was not the major revival of the IP New Line had been hoping for, nor was it the major motion picture debut LeBlanc needed.

In recent years, Netflix managed to give “Lost In Space” a more worthy revival with its three-season streaming series that was much more well-received than the movie. Whether this proves the Robinson family story is better suited to the small screen or not is debatable, but it certainly looks that way based on recent developments. Of course, just because something didn’t work the first time doesn’t mean Hollywood will let it rest, so we may well see another attempt at a big screen “Lost in Space” in the future. Maybe whoever produces that one will wait for the numbers to actually come in before development begins on spin-offs.