I'm all for a sequel, provided it's done right, is not a reboot, and acknowledges time has passed. It's been 30 years. Alex has probably done a bang-up job of rebuilding the Starfighter Legion (maybe even recruited his brother a decade or so after the first film), Centauri and Grig have died (with iconic actors like that, I don't want to try to recast), Gunstars have evolved, and some new threat looms. I almost think it would be better in an "infinitely-replayable" video-game format. Maybe some sabateur has taken exception to the Star League or the Starfighter Legion or Alex in particular and the sabotage kills Grig and Centauri and Alex tasks the player-character with finding out whodunnit, and having some ground and space combat along the way. *shrug* Dark Forces meets Alien: Isolation meets... well, the Last Starfighter. *heh*
But given the coin-toss of Hollywood doing it right, I think the rights-holder is smart to say no (at least until someone who knows how to tell a good story and do it justice comes along).
--Jonah