Re this storyI always thought it would make a good movie. Anyone familiar with the story have an opinion?
It is a good story but it is little known these days. Would you be looking for a live action or animated movie?
I have been holding out for “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” or maybe a real version of “Starship Troopers”
I think it might make a really good animated movie. I immensely enjoyed it as a teenager.
I’d read The Star Beast some years ago. After reading the recap in that wiki article from the OP, it sounds like I’ve seen some variations on this plot before, on Star Trek or other vehicles. It has a certain “things are not like they seem” vibe that the old Twilight Zone or Outer Limits might go after. And the ending is sheer Star Trek: the Motion Picture. So, I think a lot of this book has been done, to a certain extent.
I really like the story, but I’d think there would have to be some pretty extreme suspensions of disbelief required with a faithful and serious ( even if humourous ) version. I’m not sure a modern audience would go for it ( outside of the Heinlein devotees ).
Do it as a silly kids version and I’d be annoyed :D.
I’d love to see it as a movie. But it would probably have to be animated, Pixar maybe, because of the difficulty of presenting Lummox, (and her kin) The other aliens were a little closer to humanoid, but if Lummox wasn’t done just right I’d be disappointed.
So a guy has a pet that everybody thinks is a dumb animal, but it’s dangerous and they want to kill it, but then it turns out to be a member of a galactically powerful race, and woohoo.
That’s supposed to fill two and a half hours?
Easily, actually the good thing about the book is that it is relatively short.
It has teens fighting the adult world. Mother’s that just don’t understand. Flying vehicles. A strong pretty female character (Betty Sorenson). Aliens of course and the lovely twist of who the pet really was. (thus the Twilight Zone like storyline before the Twilight Zone existed.)
While I would love to see TSB made into a movie, I think Tunnel in the sky would make a better (and more popular) movie.
It would make a decent movie, but it could also be adapted as not science fiction, by stranding some teens in a remote place on Earth and throwing in some “newly discovered” mammals. Even Rod Walker entertained the idea that he hadn’t left the home planet!
Brad Bird could do a great job with this at Pixar. I’d pay ten bucks to see that, no questions asked. But first, I’d rather see The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Double Star and Time for the Stars on the big screen, and a decent version of Starship Troopers with real powered armor, talking bombs and skinnies.
But that’s just me.
Oooh. I just remembered… pretty girls with jetpacks.
I’m in.
Not just you, not just you. I thought Dave was a fairly good version of Double Star though. 
Hey where’s Silenus, he is drawn to Heinlein threads the way I am to Tolkien threads.
The Star Beast could be a decent flick, but if I could have my druthers, I’d rather see (as would most of us) a proper Starship Troopers. Plenty of other good Heinlein stories mentioned upthread would be good flicks too. I’ll throw Citizen of the Galaxy into contention for silver screen treatment. The ending gets a little wonky, but it could be tightened up without destroying its integrity.
I’m trying to teach sophomores about Napoleon right now, actually. Be back in an hour when I can devote some time to the topic.
Right you are. One of my all-time favorite political movies.
Star Beast is old hat by now. It would be a better use of resources to make The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress or Citizen of the Galaxy. Starship Troopers would make a great HBO miniseries. That would give time for character development and exploration of the underlying themes. And time for more power armor!