Whenever someone asks me about the likelihood of a new Stargate series gracing our screens, my response is always: “It’s not a matter of if, but when”. Now people assume I must have some insider knowledge, but the truth is I know about as much as any of you do about what MGM has planned for the franchise. But simple logic dictates a few things:
1 – Stargate WILL return in some form, in all likelihood a television series.
The original Stargate movie did respectable box office, but it was the television series that really blew the doors off the vault. Stargate, in its television form, made the studio a TON of money. Certainly a hell of a lot more than many of the franchises and IP’s that have found new life on the big and small screen of late. And yet, we’re still waiting.
Look, Stargate is an incredibly lucrative property and it just doesn’t make sense for the studio NOT to revisit its greatest television success story. At the end of the day, the entertainment industry is a business and decisions are based on the bottom line. And when it comes to Stargate’s bottom line, we’re talking a lot of dollar signs.
2 – The studio is being VERY cautious about launching a new series.
Given the immense value of the franchise, the studio wants to get it right. They want to be certain that the show they launch will appeal to a huge viewership. Thus, they are faced with a little dilemma – although, really, it’s not a dilemma at all if you really think about it. The studio, no doubt, feels caught between established fandom and new viewers, incorrectly assuming that it’s either one or the other. IF they launch a show within the established t.v. universe, they assume they’ll simply be appealing to old fans while leaving new viewers out in the cold. IF, on the other hand, they reboot the series and dismiss the existing t.v. canon, they face the prospect of an angry fanbase that will, in all probability, not only ignore the new series but actively campaign against it. So, what’s a studio to do?
EASY. Launch a new series that offers the best of both worlds – one that exists within the established t.v. universe but offers a fresh start for first-time viewers. The new series could introduce us to new characters, a new team, who know nothing about Stargates – and we, as the audience, could join them on their journey of discovery. It’s been some 15 years since the last episode of Stargate aired. Who doesn’t need a refresher?
The new series wouldn’t be as mythologically heavy as previous incarnations, yet – amidst the action, adventure, humor, and exploration – nevertheless offer up a little backstory on the Stargate program. Characters from the previous shows could make an appearance, but they would be introduced as though for the first time – and while new viewers will get to know them, longtime fans will get reacquainted with these beloved characters all over again.
3. The old guard should be at the helm of the new series.
So, who do you think will be playing quarterback for the New England Patriots this season? Will it be 536 career TD, 6 time Superbowl champ Tom Brady? Will it be an unproven rookie? Or will the Patriots try to lure Brett Favre out of retirement? The incorrect answer could not only cost the team their season, but have terrible repercussions for years to come.
So, who created and ran the highly successful Stargate television shows that spanned 15 years, 17 seasons, 334 episodes, 2 movies and made the studio hundreds of millions of dollars? THAT is who you want running the new series – someone who has not only proven themselves, but can craft that bridge between the established fandom and new viewers, the beloved classic Stargate and a fresh, bold new direction.
4. Soon, soon.
I know, I know. It’s all so screamingly obvious – yet I have no doubt the studio will get there. They just need to get their ducks in a row, dot those I’s, cross those T’s, and complete whatever cliched idioms one needs to complete in order to get everyone on board. A simple meeting with all the suits would do the trick. Pack all the decision-makers into a conference room, then use an overhead projector to cast an image of how much money the Stargate television franchise made over the years. Then, quickly, before anyone’s mind can wander, switch out that huge bottom line number with the Created by credits for the Stargate t.v. shows. Alternate quickly back and forth between the two to ensure all in attendance make the painfully clear connection.
They’ll get there sooner than later.
Meanwhile, how many new Star Trek shows will be on the air by year’s end?
You are the perfect pitchman for the job. Put you in the room with the suits, some tantalizing delicacies and volia a new series.
Well Joe, you have certainly made the case to revisit/relaunch/rebirth the wildly successful Stargate franchise… again.
*** Do any TPTB at MGM read your blog? ***
Honestly, considering the established Stargate fandom, the thirst for quality scifi in a greater audience, the PROVEN profitabilty… it should be a no-brainer.
Contact Wright and Cooper to helm it all, and, if canon is honored, there will be a bonafide hit. Of course, adding in a Mallozzi, Binder, McCullough, etc. couldn’t hurt!
I am ready for more Stargate stories, as I am sure many, oh so many others are as well.
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I just hope that whatever form a new Stargate series takes, that it’s tone will be similar to SG1 and Atlantis. Universe grew on me after the first season, but I’d personally prefer the lighter, action-adventure tone of the first two. There are already too many DARK and BROODING (all caps intentional) sci-fi shows out there. Also, we need likable characters that mesh well together, something that I personally think is a problem with Star Trek: Discovery. Show runners could learn some lessons from that reboot. (Again, that’s my personal opinion. Not looking to get into a debate about Discovery.)
But, as you said above, if the old guard is at the helm, I won’t worry at all.
I would love to see a new stargate series either following the already established story( wich i wish) or with a fresh new reboot that must follow stargate’s style ( exploration of new worlds, new enemies, high tech sci fi.. ). A sci fi show must be sci fi not a soapy drama.
It all seems so obvious and straightforward as you’ve laid out here. I honestly don’t get what is taking them so long.
I’m certainly wanting the team that brought it forth to be heavily involved or it won’t work. The only thing worse than no Stargate is for them to screw up the new series as they did with Universe.
I enjoyed Universe, but it just wasn’t my Stargate. Too dark and the wrong actors (other than Carlyle). They lost the humor and the sense of what a Stargate team is.
I certainly hope it’s in canon and maybe set in Pegasus galaxy with some familiar faces occasionally making an appearance. I would be thrilled to have an Atlantis continuation set maybe 10 years later. A bit of old and new would be great.
Thanks for the explanation. Here’s hoping for the best.
What a very hopeful and incredibly encouraging post about the future of the Stargate franchise. I hope that your forecasting skills are on the money!
I would pitch: Stargate SG-13
which would follow a completely different team through the stargate. Maybe this team isn’t exactly the first ranked team… (like a Redshirts by John Scalzi meets The Orville)… less qualifications, more humor.
Sprinkle in a few of the old stars bumping elbows to or from the gate room, etc. and I think you’ve got a hit on your hands.
The only problem I see with all this is that simple logic and studio/network executives sometimes (often?) don’t go together. I remain hopeful though, that something will come about and the old team will be back!
I just don’t see a reboot version being successful for the reasons you stated. They have an existing fan base that could be built upon – why alienate them in the hope of some new viewers that may or may not show up. Fan enthusiasm can get others involved in watching the show. Heck, I probably know half a dozen people that starting watching both SG and DM as a result of my telling them about it.
Sure – SURELY, they would not waste that potential by trying something completely unproven.
In an alternate universe a successful new Stargate series launched three years ago and is wildly popular with old and new fans. Alt-MGM is making a ton of money.
There are tons of reboots and return series out there now so I could see MGM not wanting to be 25th to market with one but the more time that passes the more I feel it either won’t happen or it will happen and it won’t be popular enough to succeed. I know there are plenty of devoted fans that will watch a new Stargate series whenever it happens but I hope that’s sooner rather than later. I hope the original cast is as involved as they want to be, meaning if Amanda Tapping and David Hewlett are on board for full time roles and they cast new people to be the Stargate Team that goes on away missions that sounds great. If it’s just Gate Guy and Teal’c, that sounds awesome too! Let’s get this going already. Just know, if you are involved in bringing it back, and I hope you will be, please know that the fans want 16-24 episode seasons. None of this 6 episode limited run crap! Thanks!
Thanks for this summary and clear explanation of what the situation is currently.
Here’s how i feel about that : My hands are on the wheel, and my right foot is heavily weighting on the accelerator pedal, but I’m still waiting to shift to “drive”. Right now I’m just making a lot of noise, waiting to go and express my excitement when the announcement is made. This anticipation is fun but is starting to get old because it lasts too long.
I guess you get this question a lot. I love dark matter, i must say, and a continuation of that would make me as happy as a New stargate. Makes me wonder : would you like to be involved as heavy as before into a New stargate series? You have lots of other things now in prep, so i guess it would not be possible? Isnt it creatively more exciting to start something completely new not stargate related? Time for a mailbag! Regards from a fan from Belgium.
So…Joe….Are we going to riot in 2020 or not ?
I agree with all your points. We just have to be patient.
With all due respect, I have to disagree on that. Don’t get me wrong, I love the established canon, movie, SG1, Atlantis, SGU. Not Origins though :). I love the way the mankind evolved troughout the franchise from a minor planet to an intergalactic superpower with fleet, with asgard legacy, with Ancients database, etc. I like the ships, the way other races look up to us, interstellar politics, I really do. And that evolution is logical, realistic. But that’s not Stargate anymore, that’s Star Trek. Stargate at it’s core is about a group of people who travel through the gate to other planets, learn things and fight the super advanced bad guys connected with Earth’s ancient mythologies, and prevail with the odds against. All set in real world. Could happen right here, right now. While I love the entire franchise, for me, personally, the best part is still the classic SG 1, earlier seasons, when was all about exactly that. A group of people who travel and discover things and fight the villains. And that was lost in later seasons. I want to have that feeling again and I’m not sure that a fourth series set in the established canon can provide that for me. You’ll still have the ships, the advanced technology and you can’t simply get rid of all that. And it would be a shame to undo all that progres. That’s why I think a reboot would be the best course of action. A SG1 reboot, not the Emmerich thing. Made by Brad Wright and the gang :). And we’ll still have the established canon, nobody will erase that.
Oh, and one more thing, Joe :). About Destiny’s mission and the endgame of Sgu. I kept thinking about the way you described what Brad Wright and Robert Cooper had planned for the show. As “mindblowing”. And I remember that Brad Wright once stated that was something about the human race fullfiling its true potential. So, that means it was something big they had in mind. Well, I think the SGU is basically a giant time loop , one that will lead our heroes to the moments of the very beginning of the universe. The name of the ship, Destiny, is not random, nor the name of the show, Universe. I think our heroes were always meant to be on that ship (and never to return home) and I think the Ancients knew that (you mentioned once something about a time travel episode involving the Ancients that build the ship, for a planned season 3). I think the universe as it was in its earliest stages could not have evolve to sustain complex structures as stars and clouds (and life) on its own and needed some fixing and our characters will provide that by travelling back in time or something like that. And the cosmic microwave background radiation pattern, the so called signal from God, is actually a set of instructions of how to “fix” the universe. I think that signal is from them (after they’ve travelled back in time and fixed the universe) and I think they are “God”. Yeah, I know, a lot of ” thinking” here :)), maybe to much. But that would fit perfectly with “mindblowing” and “human race fullfiling its potential”. Now, I know you can neither confirm, nor deny anything of this. I just wanted to share this with you.
The world needs more Stargate! I grew up watching strong female role models like Amanda Tapping, Teryl Rothery, & Rachel Luttrell, and developing a strong interest in science, & am all the better for it. I think, especially in today’s world, these things are more important than ever! Please let us know if you need directed fan support to make your point. We’re here & waiting!
I, like a lot of other viewers, disliked the humourless and dire SG:U and I would be very cautious of a new series if it takes this route. I blame the success of the revamped Battlestar Galactic, because it seems like a lot of the recently rebooted sci-fi series have gone this way. I couldn’t get through even two episodes of ST: Discovery, before switching channels, for instance.
I haven’t watched any sci-fi except DM for a number of years because of this trend. The best thing about DM, SG-1 and Atlantis was that the creation of a family was at the centre of them. None of the other sci-fi series out there has that sense of family. (It never clicked with me, but, Michelle Lovretta certainly did great things with Killjoys, I understand). Here’s hoping for a bright sci-fi future!
This is a really insightful read into the potential future of Stargate, Joe, and it gives me hope that we will see the show revived at some stage. Thank you. I think the fact that yourself, as well as other cast and crew members, are so behind the project too, gives it that additional credibility (i.e. it’s not just fans demanding their favorite franchise be renewed because they didn’t like how it ended, etc).
I’m curious; did you have an opportunity to meet with any MGM executives or decision makers while at SDCC last month? I know you asked us to submit our messages of support re. reviving the show so you could deliver them, but I was wondering if there was any hint as to how they were handling the franchise.
With all the various show reboots and revivals appearing on our screens at the moment, it does seem like now would be the ideal time to launch Stargate and if they were to wait too long, would that momentum vanish? Would the trend for bringing back the older shows end to make way for the next TV viewing trend? It’s really difficult to tell, but considering the amount of money SG-1/Atlantis/Universe brought into the studio, it’s really strange that they are keeping so quiet on the issue.
I often wonder how the ‘superfan superpanel’ is getting along as well. Do they have any potential sway with MGM? I know the plan was for them to advise MGM on new content for the Stargate Command platform, etc. but I haven’t really heard much at all since that… unless I’ve completely missed any updates?
As an aside, if the Stargate was to return, I would love the original team – cast and crew – to be involved. Introduce new characters, certainly, but even though time has moved on and there are new avenues and storylines that could be examined, it was the original cast and crew that made us love the show and kept us hooked week after week for the next episode. It would be a real shame and a disservice to bring Stargate back if the core of its success was missing.
Sorry I’m a bit late to this but my guess is there will be 42 😉 Star Trek series on air