Christopher Judge's Stargate SG-1 spin-off pitch would have changed the franchise

This article contains spoilers for “Stargate SG-1”.

The best part of “Stargate SG-1” — besides its thrilling premise about visiting alien worlds — is its titular central crew. Among them, Chulak's Teal'c (Christopher Judge) is easily a fan favorite. The revolutionary from Jaffa has a masterful way of making his presence felt, even when he lurks in the background of certain scenes. Additionally, Teal'c went through hell on his journey to challenge Goa'uld and a life of indoctrination, which he was able to leave behind to join Stargate Command. And if you ask me, Teal'c is simply the coolest.

Judge, who played Teal'c with such grace and understated magnetism, later reprized the role in the sequel series “Stargate Atlantis” (where he appeared in two episodes), as well as in the “Stargate” films. directly to DVD. The Ark of Truth” and “Continuum”. The actor, best known for playing Kratos in the “God of War” video game franchise, spoke with Michael Rosenbaum about his web series: “Inside you”, about his insistent efforts to make a Teal'c spinoff and how its premise has a “Black Panther”-type element that could help revive the franchise.

For further context, the “Stargate” franchise ended after “Stargate Atlantis” completed its five seasons, having completely run out of steam in terms of new ideas. The cracks had already started to form halfway through “Stargate SG-1”, including the successful series of 10 seasons often struggled with budgetary constraints, limited filming locations and changes in the main cast (including the departure of Teryl Rothery). Despite an uphill battle, series creators Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner have done their best to maintain the “Stargate” franchiseand its legacy can still be felt by those who adore everything the property has always stood for.

“Stargate SG-1” worked best by exploring established mythology from a futuristic perspective, with ideas drawn from various mythic texts and historical fiction. This, combined with the show's tendency to switch between alternate timelines and realities, offered different perspectives on the same characters, which helped us understand the fickle nature of fate. One choice could change everything; for example, in an alternate reality where the SG-1 crew never visited Chulak, Teal'c continued to serve as Apophis' First Prime. and led an invasion of Earth in 1998. Although the Stargate crew intervenes, this version of Teal'c refuses to help the group and even murders a central character out of displaced rage.

The Teal'c in the main canon timeline manages to free his people in the end, but their fate remains up in the air, even though we know that Teal'c eventually joined Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa) during Atlantis. assignment. When Rosenbaum asked Judge if he would consider returning to “Stargate,” the actor revealed that he had pitched his idea for a spinoff series to MGM more than once, but that it had probably stalled after the acquisition of the studio by Amazon:

“This spin-off was about what happened to Teal'c and his race of freedom because at the end of the series, they gained their freedom, and they now inherited all this technology from those who They were used. So what do you do? […] So two of the episodes I wrote were about Amazonian mythology […] So I presented Stargate's version of “Black Panther”. So we as an enslaved people now had our freedom, inherited this technology and how we became this culturally and technologically advanced society. So what burden does this entail? Do you help others or do you keep it to yourself, right? And so three plans loved it, and then we got bought by Amazon. »

This idea seems solid on paper, as the Jaffa inheriting technology from the Goa'uld introduces moral complications and poses interesting questions about the path forward. While there's little chance that Judge's spinoff idea will ever be greenlit, a “Stargate” fan can still hope and dream of the stars.