MGM Greenlights Stargate Reboot

[theredhead77]

I feel like I've read this before but this seems to be official, with a budget

[shapeshifter]

Yes, lots of chatter: http://www.google.com/search?q=stargate%20reboot#q=stargate&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:m,sbd:1

So it's a trilogy of movies, not a small screen affair.

If the recast Jack, Daniel, and other recurring characters as well as was done for the series after the original movie, I will be happy.

Edited May 30, 2014 by shapeshifter

[RapBert]

If it wasn't for those two hacks Emmerich and Devlin at the helm, I'd be ok with it. This has a lot of potential that could be used to great effect in the hands of a competent director and writer.

[solotrek]

If it wasn't for those two hacks Emmerich and Devlin at the helm, I'd be ok with it. This has a lot of potential that could be used to great effect in the hands of a competent director and writer.

 

Not only are they hacks, they're hacks who hate and have always hated everything about the shows. They never liked the direction the shows took and always have had their own ideas of the mythos and what should have had happened. Unless they've have a sudden rapid 180 on what they've thought, prepare to have everything we've loved for 17 seasons be destroyed.

 

Regardless of how you felt about the movies, at least the Abrams Star Trek movies had shout outs and made an effort to say the shows were still canon.

[theredhead77]

Take this for what it's worth (read on the internet) it's supposed to go along with the movie story-line in an AU, so the shows and new movies can all take place.

 

Lord knows they have enough mythos to easily go that way, and I hope they do.

[Julia]

I don't know much about Emmerich, but I loved what Devlin did with Leverage, so I'm hoping he'll be more respectful of the fans than the previous Stargate showrunners.

[Maverick]

 I'm confused.  Are they remaking/"reimagining" the original movie, doing a sequel to the original movie that ignores the TV shows or doing a continuation set in the shared original movie/TV show universe?

[buttersister]

I don't know if they're "hacks" or not, but they did come up with the idea in the first place. I get they didn't like the series, but it's not like I can't understand that from their POV and I agree that Devlin did a good thing with Leverage.

 

I'd be fine if this stuck with the original conceit--cause I'd love it if they could get Spader back. And I didn't care for where the series eventually went, so I'd rather not follow that anywhere.

[Fremde Frau]

I am cautiously interested in this, since it seems to be a spinoff from the original film.

 

The original Stargate movie wasn't all that great, in my opinion, but it did have a perfectly cast Spader, and--from an anthropological standpoint--I find some aspects enjoyable in that cheesy, scifi way. I fell in love with SG-1 when I saw "There But For The Grace of God," so I'm more partial to how the TV series handled the concept than to the original concept itself. I have had my issues with the series, too, but I think I could handle this if they built off of that first movie and went in a new direction but not if they revisited the series and tried to rewrite some of that.

[shapeshifter]

I'm confused. Are they [a] remaking/"reimagining" the original movie, doing a sequel to the original movie that ignores the TV shows or [c] doing a continuation set in the shared original movie/TV show universe?

Good question.

My understanding is that it is a or b. Does anyone know for sure which of these?

Even if they are claiming to ignore the 10 years of television travel through stargates, I seriously doubt that none of it will seep in--even if by stealth of writer with the heart of an SG1 devotee.

This article lightly examines who "owns" the rights to the story. I wonder if this could prevent it from getting made, or if they've already dotted all the i's and crossed all the legal t's: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/columns/highdefinition/11548-Who-Owns-Stargate

Edited June 2, 2014 by shapeshifter

[ilovethedark]

I'm so torn. On one hand I want Stargate to gain new fans, but on the other I don't trust Roland and Devlin to respect the fans of the show. There is a link (that has been lost on the forum that was) where they gave an interview where they said that if the sequel movies happened they would have nothing to do with the shows.

JJ Abrams actually seems to respect the shows' fans. Even if its just a small shout-out (the reference to Scotty losing Archer's beagle or Uhura's first name) I fear this movie will be a middle finger to MGM and Bridge Studios for even daring to produce the shows we love. I have no illusions to references of the Tok'ra, Furlings or blue jello ever beining included. Any time Roland is asked about a potential sequel movie and his thoughts on the show, his feelings are known.

Even though lots of movies that get the "green light" end up in development hell, I fear this might happen since I can picture MGM pushing forward while the late 80's/early 90's remakes trend Hollywood is in love with seems to be hot. I fear that this will be disastrous to the franchise since things will be rushed. Fans of the shows will say "screw you" and not see the movie and newbies will ask "what was that shit we just paid $10 a ticket to see?" and everything we love will be lost to a footnote of tv history.

Edited June 3, 2014 by ilovethedark

[Julia]

I think, though, that it isn't the fans of the shows that Devlin had an issue with, or even the actors. He took a _lot_ of cheap shots from our buddies Brad Wright and Rob Cooper (whose only creative contribution to the franchise was hiring actors who were better than their material, IMO), and a lot of it was the kick them while they're down variety (yeah, I know that amazes everyone).

 

My best-case scenario is that the reboot is treated as an AU, which is canon for the first two shows, and that if they do well TPTB will release the shows into syndication so people can see them (and maybe get interested in a TV/DVD movie, preferably one M&M have nothing to do with).

 

A girl can dream...

[Guest]

Even though lots of movies that get the "green light" end up in development hell, I fear this might happen since I can picture MGM pushing forward while the late 80's/early 90's remakes trend Hollywood is in love with seems to be hot. I fear that this will be disastrous to the franchise since things will be rushed. Fans of the shows will say "screw you" and not see the movie and newbies will ask "what was that shit we just paid $10 a ticket to see?" and everything we love will be lost to a footnote of tv history.

 

I love this show, but its already well on its way to being a footnote.  There is virtually nothing out there about it anymore.  No books or comics or anything else that keeps franchises relevant in between TV shows or movies.  If its in syndication anywhere on the 200+ channels I have, I can't find it.

 

I never expected another TV series,  Its too tied to SyFy for that.  They didn't even see the point in continuing with the TV movies.  SGU was a disaster. 

 

The movies reviving can only be good for SG-1 because it can't really get worse than nothing happening.

 

As to what the movies would be a about, from the article I read...

It sounded like they would do the original plan for the movies which was a trilogy. Each movie going to different places and with a different culture. So ancient Egypt, Ra, Goa'uld {were they named in the movie?) gone after the first movie. I wonder if they would have just continued with Jack in the later movies and left Daniel on Abydos? Kurt Russell was a much bigger star than James Spader back then. I wonder if Daniel Jackson would have been a bit player in the franchise if it continued in the movies instead of TV?

Edited June 4, 2014 by ParadoxLost

[stillshimpy]

I don't really have an issue with the idea of the movie getting a reboot.  I don't know what they are going do to with it: 

 

 

 

There is a link (that has been lost on the forum that was) where they gave an interview where they said that if the sequel movies happened they would have nothing to do with the shows

 

That's what I remember also.  I don't think that necessarily means that Spader and Kurt Russell would be back though.  Not to be unkind about it on any level, but realistically Russell decided to pursue work behind a camera (he looks great and all) so he's not really as big a name as he was.  James Spader is in his mid-fifties and had older demographic draw, so I don't think they'd have either actor in anything other than a token nod to fans of the original movie, perhaps with the new generation of action stars being launched.  

 

But I think it's more likely they'd just recast everyone and start fresh.  I don't mind if they ignore the series.  It's a fun premise with a ton of potential.  

 

 

 

I love this show, but its already well on its way to being a footnote.  There is virtually nothing out there about it anymore.  No books or comics or anything else that keeps franchises relevant in between TV shows or movies.  If its in syndication anywhere on the 200+ channels I have, I can't find it.

 

True, but I think Syfy wisely decided to try and move on from any Stargate shows for a bit.  So it may someday be back in syndication somewhere....but it isn't syndication that grabs new viewers anymore.  It's being available on streaming services.  It would help if it was on both Netflix and Amazon Prime.  I have 23-year-old son and everything people in his age group watch is viewing a streaming service.  Now, there's going to be exceptions to that, clearly...but it is the age of the cord-cutter for new and continuing fans. 

 

So a movie would be more likely to help the series with younger fans.  Ad blitz.  Check out the series.  I wish it was on Netflix too.  

 

Anyway, our cast is also getting a bit older and I don't think we're likely to see anything with Stargate and our cast.  That's okay, they're forever young and available with a click for me.  It's just that the new movie can't really harm what's already died down anyway.  

 

 

 

I think, though, that it isn't the fans of the shows that Devlin had an issue with, or even the actors. He took a _lot_ of cheap shots from our buddies Brad Wright and Rob Cooper (whose only creative contribution to the franchise was hiring actors who were better than their material, IMO), and a lot of it was the kick them while they're down variety (yeah, I know that amazes everyone).

 

That's the other thing, I don't think the issue was with the material, but with the people who wrote the material.  I love this show and have a great fondness for it, but the guys who were the showrunners were kind of stereotypes of scifi types: relatively poor social and media skills.  They just shot their mouths off so much -- never more so than with SGU where they managed to tick off a large percentage of the existing fanbase...that they needed to make their show succeed and they yelled at the critics too...who rather than yell back, just went on to covering other shows, because who needs that crap if you're a pro?  

 

Basically, I sort of don't blame the original guys for not being overly fond of the series, because that show-running crew got really cocky, really abrasive and sort of insulting.  They so clearly and obviously had their good points, of course, but not a one of them missed their calling in the diplomatic corps.  Just saying, it's small wonder the original movie makers aren't fond of the series.  Coop and Company were frequently overly confrontational with their own fans, and downright insulting to the guys whose ideas they were building upon. 

 

So anyway, I don't take it as particularly damning that the movie makers never liked the series.  Glassner was the only guy in that group who kept his head down and remembered he might have to work with those guys at some point.  

 

But the movie makers went on to have pretty good careers and they likely wouldn't just pee on the TV series for pissing rights against a bunch of guys who...I don't know what several of the SG1 and SGA showrunners are up to.  The guys who just never seemed to go out of their way (like Wood and DeLuise) to be abrasive, just keep on working.  The guys who likely earned that antipathy of the movie makers aren't ....I'm seriously not trying to be mean here...but the movie makers aren't  in any territorial battle with the guys who sort of started the mud slinging and they seem sort of well on their way to being the creative team to bring you the next Sharknado more than anything. 

 

Yeah there's no way to say this without just saying it:  The guys who had the successful careers didn't do it by disparaging anyone else and that goes for both the series and the movies.  The guys who caused the crap are in the "the successful people know better than to kick anyone when they are ...if not down...puttering towards B- movies at best."  

 

ETA: Then on top of all that, if by any chance the movie makers needed an object lesson in why it's just daft to insult and piss off an existing fanbase?  The SGU showrunners kindly provided that object lesson.  

Edited June 4, 2014 by stillshimpy

[buttersister]

A sweet moment that last one, which could not have come quickly enough for me. (The tanking and disappearance thereof.)

[ganesh]

The movies TPTBs can not like the "direction" of the tv series all they want, but the fact is, there's been 17 overall successful seasons of it. If people are seeing news about a SG movie, it's not crazy for the default thought to be, "oh they're making that tv show into a movie." It's not like the original movie, which I liked, was this super blockbuster that everyone talked about. I think I knew 5 people who saw it at the time.

 

Not that an upcoming movie must follow directly from the tv show; it's their concept and they can do whatever they want with it. But it seems short sighted to me to completely ignore a and disregard what is a pretty sizeable fan base. Would they really have decided to reboot the movie had their not been years of success on tv?

[Idiotboy]

 

he guys who just never seemed to go out of their way (like Wood and DeLuise) to be abrasive, just keep on working.

Most of those who used to be TPTB have dropped from sight. Meanwhile both Martin Wood and Andy Mikita are flourishing on "Cedar Cove" (which reunites them with Teryl Rothery and Garry Chalk from SG-1). I'm not sure what Peter DeLuise is up to now; the last time I saw him credited, he was hanging out with the cool kids on "Sanctuary."

[Joe]

Remake gets writers, both from Independence Day 2. I'm looking at what passes for their writing credits. One has nothing but ID2, the other a couple of short features. Neither move me with much confidence.

[marina to]

Looks like Emmerich and Devlin finally got their series.  I do like the idea of having Catherine having adventures. I just don't trust them not to fuck up the SG1 backstory in the process. Stargate Command sounds promising. It would be great to access all the eps so I can get rid of my DVDs and see my faves I don't have.

Edited July 21, 2017 by marina to

[TVSpectator]

Okay, so I just heard that they are going to make Stargate Orginins and it will follow the adventures of Catherine Langford. So, it looks like this will be a prequel and might not even take place up to the point where Daniel and Jack come in.

 

As here is the promo video:

 

[marina to]

@TVSpectator The article I posted made it very clear they're sticking to this earlier timeline. I suspected they may have trouble doing a reboot with new Jack and Daniel actors. That boat has sailed, methinks.

[Joe]

Wonderful, another prequel. Somehow she doesn't go to a planet, attract the attention of a local Goa'uld, and alert them to the presence of Earth. I'm kind of curious, but not hugely.

[DittyDotDot]

Hmm...I don't know, this doesn't sound like a good idea. Prequels rarely are, IMO. As much as I love Catherine as a character, I'm not sure how they can make this work? 

Hmmm?

[ae2]

Hey! A prequel to a popular, long running sci-fi franchise is launching on a new online subscription service. 

Oh, and they're making another Stargate show. Woot!

I'm okay with fresh writers. That can sometimes be a good thing. It worked out pretty well for Game of Thrones, and it's working for the TBS show Wrecked. Plus, Dean Devlin has a promising track record with TV shows. 

Not thrilled about it being a prequel, or about the online service part, but excited to have more Stargate on screen.

[ganesh]

10 hours ago, Joe said:

Wonderful, another prequel. Somehow she doesn't go to a planet, attract the attention of a local Goa'uld, and alert them to the presence of Earth. I'm kind of curious, but not hugely.

It's better than a straight up reboot that wipes out nearly 500 hours of tv canon. I had said before, there's a large imo fanbase that only knows SG as a tv show, and not the movie as what they think Stargate is.

I suppose they could pull a Sliders type deal where Catherine goes through the gate, but doesn't realize she needs to know the right chevrons to get back, so even though she could attract the attention of the Goa'uld, no one knows how to get to Earth, but that only she's Tauri.

[BkWurm1]

46 minutes ago, ganesh said:

It's better than a straight up reboot that wipes out nearly 500 hours of tv canon. I had said before, there's a large imo fanbase that only knows SG as a tv show, and not the movie as what they think Stargate is.

I suppose they could pull a Sliders type deal where Catherine goes through the gate, but doesn't realize she needs to know the right chevrons to get back, so even though she could attract the attention of the Goa'uld, no one knows how to get to Earth, but that only she's Tauri.

Still it seems like an oversight not to have mentioned that when they were trying to figure out what the Stargate even was.

[marina to]

On 7/21/2017 at 11:43 AM, BkWurm1 said:

Still it seems like an oversight not to have mentioned that when they were trying to figure out what the Stargate even was.

I really hope that gets addressed but doubt very much it will happen.

[ganesh]

I'm hoping they're looking for a retcon that doesn't destroy the tv canon. Maybe Catherine deliberately withheld information in the SG-1 canon because reasons on this show, yet still wanted others to figure out the stargate and kick off the SG-1 program. 

The issue imo is how much the movie producers are invested in the tv show canon. 

[DittyDotDot]

Doesn't it go against their own movie canon, though? It is the movie that has Catherine bringing in Daniel to solve the puzzle, after all. I mean, sure, she could've figured it all out, had adventures and then shut it all down and kept quiet for decades, but it does seem rather contrived. 

Although, they could be working on an alternate timeline approach? It would be a way--IMO, a cheating way--of keeping the TV show canon intact, while also giving them an almost blank slate to start this new show.

[katie9918]

The alternate universe idea does have solid roots going all the way back to Season 1 of SG-1. I'm hoping this is what we get for this prequel.

 

I adored Catherine Langford in the few appearances we got, so I'm cautiously optimistic for this show. I'll definitely give it a chance.

[blueray]

The only way I can see this working is they go the alternate reality route. The show follows Catherine as she discovers the stargate with a team. I'm not sure what they can do different from here, but maybe they do encounter various familiar friends and foes.  But the endgame of the show will reveal that this is the alternate reality that is shown in season 1 episode "There but the grace of God".  Which if I remember correctly Daniel was not involved in discovering the Stargate, she was. Catherine and her team started earlier then they did to provide time for the show to take place.

Edited July 23, 2017 by blueray

[shapeshifter]

I too would vote for the alternate universe, but then do they have an opening voiceover explaining the AU while visuals show different SG universes?

One other possibility is C. Langford getting amnesia either accidentally or on purpose, but, again, it seems like an explanation (e.g., via flashforward) would be required for at least the first half season.

Edited July 23, 2017 by shapeshifter

[ganesh]

6 hours ago, DittyDotDot said:

Doesn't it go against their own movie canon, though? It is the movie that has Catherine bringing in Daniel to solve the puzzle, after all. I mean, sure, she could've figured it all out, had adventures and then shut it all down and kept quiet for decades, but it does seem rather contrived. 

I barely remember the movie. Maybe she accidentally triggered the gate and did the whole Sliders thing until finally getting back to Earth and then recruited Daniel to figure it out for real. Or, since the Egypt gate was buried, maybe she finds and uses the Antarctic gate and then when she finds the Egypt one, she doesn't think it's the same thing? So she finds Daniel. Of course, then why wouldn't she have told Daniel about the other one. Oh, I just watched the trailer and it's the Egypt gate. So that's out. That gate only goes to Abydos though. 

Since there's only one movie, I don't really care if they muck up the movie canon much. Given the hundreds of hours of the tv canon, I just think it's a slap in the face to all the actors, crew et al., who put in over a decade of hard work to wipe it all out because you want to do your show your way.

I don't like the AU because if this is a different universe that "ours" there's kind of no stakes to it in a way. 

Edited July 23, 2017 by ganesh

[shapeshifter]

42 minutes ago, ganesh said:

…I don't like the AU because if this is a different universe that "ours" there's kind of no stakes to it in a way. 

I was assuming the AU would include reveals of there being AUs, like they did in that one episode. But now I realize that wouldn't work very well with a prequel. It would require a lot of flashforwards into other universes, which just makes my head ache more than usual.

[ganesh]

You risk the actual show becoming meaningless at that point if we know there's always one universe out there where things work out. 

Unless, the real Catherine goes through the gate, never to return, and an AU Catherine takes her place in "our universe" which is a way to maintain continuity. 

[DittyDotDot]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

I barely remember the movie. Maybe she accidentally triggered the gate and did the whole Sliders thing until finally getting back to Earth and then recruited Daniel to figure it out for real. Or, since the Egypt gate was buried, maybe she finds and uses the Antarctic gate and then when she finds the Egypt one, she doesn't think it's the same thing? So she finds Daniel. Of course, then why wouldn't she have told Daniel about the other one. Oh, I just watched the trailer and it's the Egypt gate. So that's out. That gate only goes to Abydos though. 

Since there's only one movie, I don't really care if they muck up the movie canon much. Given the hundreds of hours of the tv canon, I just think it's a slap in the face to all the actors, crew et al., who put in over a decade of hard work to wipe it all out because you want to do your show your way.

I don't like the AU because if this is a different universe that "ours" there's kind of no stakes to it in a way. 

And, that's why I said, IMO, the alternate timeline would be a cheat.

I actually think the interesting story might be with Ernest, in the long run, instead of Catherine. I mean, Catherine could be there to discover the gate, but we actually follow Ernest after he's trapped on Tantalus. Maybe he did do some traveling after all? It would still be a retcon, but wouldn't be as big of one as having Catherine traveling through the gate before Daniel figures out the puzzle.

Do we know how many episodes are being made yet? I was just thinking if it was going to be a one-and-done miniseries, they could pull it off with no one actually traveling through the gate other than Ernest. I mean, they could tell the story of finding the gate, Catherine and Ernest studying it and all and then end it with Ernest getting lost?

I don't know, I'm sticking with my original assessment; prequels are generally bad ideas. ;)

[ganesh]

An AU is definitely lazy and a cheat. Ernest is a good choice because you can get around canon, but the trailer only shows Catherine.

It's still kind of dumb because how did they figure out how to operate the gate without the DHD? Would they have the machinery in 1928 to manually rotate it, and a power source? I also don't like how this kind of lessens the impact of Daniel's contributions. 

However long the series runs, I suppose they could have her ascend at some point and then descend at the end and lose her memories. It's a cheat, but it did happen to Daniel.

[DittyDotDot]

4 minutes ago, ganesh said:

It's still kind of dumb because how did they figure out how to operate the gate without the DHD? Would they have the machinery in 1928 to manually rotate it, and a power source? I also don't like how this kind of lessens the impact of Daniel's contributions. 

If I remember right, in The Torment of Tantalus they accidentally made the connection while manually rotating the gate--they were just experimenting while trying to study the gate and figure out how to use it--and decided to send Ernest through to see what was on the other side. After they lost Ernest, they decided they shouldn't mess with the gate any longer until they knew more about it. I don't remember what they were using for a power supply, though.

[shapeshifter]

54 minutes ago, ganesh said:

…they could have [Catherine] ascend at some point and then descend at the end and lose her memories. It's a cheat, but it did happen to Daniel.

I'd be okay with it, but this and a lot of the other suggestions upthread all require either having an exposition at the beginning, or just not caring about the lack of continuity until the end.

[ganesh]

Depending how long the show runs, you can introduce an Ancient that she runs into during her adventures, and something bad happens, like with Daniel, and she has to ascend. But then maybe she sees that the knowledge of the stargate on Earth is lost and knows that the threat of the Goa'uld needs to be taken on, so she comes back at the price of losing her knowledge and has to find someone who can unlock the gate again. 

54 minutes ago, DittyDotDot said:

If I remember right, in The Torment of Tantalus they accidentally made the connection while manually rotating the gate--they were just experimenting while trying to study the gate and figure out how to use it--and decided to send Ernest through to see what was on the other side. After they lost Ernest, they decided they shouldn't mess with the gate any longer until they knew more about it. I don't remember what they were using for a power supply, though.

I don't remember, but that sounds like a better idea for a new show than having Catherine go through. Unless she goes through to find Ernest, and my whole ascending theory works.