Those unfamiliar with the franchise will be shocked to learn the sheer volume of “Stargate” media there is in the universe. The “Stargate” saga began in 1994 with the release of Roland Emmerich's ultra-slick sci-fi film, a gigantic hit that truly propelled Emmerich into the American mass consciousness. The 1994 film starred James Spader and Kurt Russell as a scientist and a soldier (respectively) who begin testing an ancient Egyptian portal which, they discover, gives them instant access to distant planets . They discover that ancient Egypt was once populated by extraterrestrials and that creatures from beyond the stars have influenced human history for millennia.
The film was only warmly reviewed, but it grossed nearly $200 million on a $55 million budget and cemented itself in pop culture, seemingly in perpetuity. In 1997, the television series “Stargate SG-1” debuted on Showtime, almost immediately gaining a cult and passionate audience. The series greatly expanded the film's story and hummed quietly in the background for a full decade, spanning 214 episodes across ten seasons. The television series has also spawned several spinoffs, including “Stargate: Atlantis”, “Stargate: Universe”, “Stargate: Infinity” and “Stargate: Origins”. In total, the “Stargate” franchise offers approximately 450 hours of entertainment, not counting all the books and video games.
“Stargate SG-1” was co-created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, and recast the characters of Russell and Spader (along with Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks). Emmerich and his co-writer, Dead Devlin, had nothing to do with the creation or direction of “SG-1.” Indeed, in a 2022 interview with Space.comEmmerich noted that he had no interest in returning to “Stargate”, as he had somehow lost interest.
Roland Emmerich has had enough of Stargate
Given that humanity lives in a world ready for reboot, why hasn't “Stargate” been rebooted yet? According to Emmerich, the brand had become too dispersed. He understood that anyone who called themselves a “Stargate fan” in 2022 was probably talking about the many TV shows and not its 1994 feature film. He also noted that he was only contractually online for the films, which which would essentially require him to create an entirely new mythos, separate from the enormous amount of TV knowledge already in the world.
As for not participating in the “Stargate” television series, Emmerich said he was not willing to work within the media's budget, at least as it existed in 1997. Emmerich said:
“[A new show would have] to be someone new and interesting. And I don't want to go there anymore. […] We had this idea, at one point, to do [‘Stargate’] like a TV show, but it was way too expensive… You know, everything I do has to have a certain level of quality. So I actually said no to the TV show because it only cost $800,000. [per episode]. And I knew at that time they were shooting “X-Files” and spending about $1.6, $1.8. [million] …I knew I couldn't do what I wanted to do with this. »
Which is right. Emmerich's science fiction projects tend to be huge affairs with giant budgets and lots of special effects. The $55 million budget for his original “Stargate” film is downright modest compared to what the director would spend on movies like “Moonfall” and “2012”. Perhaps in the modern age of streaming, where TV shows can cost around $20 million per episode, an Emmerich-backed “Stargate” series could be bankrolled by an overzealous, overfunded studio. But, as Emmerich noted, it is no longer possible to reboot the film.
Emmerich said, however, that he hopes someone else will try.
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