The news that Amazon bought MGM set tongues a wagging among dedicated fans of the Stargate franchise a few weeks ago. With all the money that Amazon has poured into original productions – as well as their (recent) history of “saving” shows like The Expanse (which SyFy cancelled after only 3 seasons) – the fans pushing to bring any part of the Stargate franchise back to production started talking about the possibilities.
Of course, GateWorld has been tracking all things Stargate for years, and they’ve kept their community updated on everything that Brad Wright and Joseph Mollazzi have had to say on the subject from “5 Chevrons Locked” last September to Brad Wright and various cast members hinting that “talks” have continued.
And now GateWorld has launched a new YouTube newscast (watch it in the Sf-Fandom forums) that will track all the developments on a monthly basis. And that’s a sign the fan community is very confident something is close to happening.
Why Did Stargate End?
The Stargate franchise was controlled by MGM for over 20 years. Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich created the whole concept of a wormhole portal to other worlds with their 1994 independent film Stargate. We learned in a recent interview with Dean Devlin that only MGM offered to distribute the movie. But the movie’s French financiers panicked right before the movie was about to open in theaters and they sold the rights to MGM for $5 million. It went on to gross over $200 million in 1994 – so MGM made a HUGE profit on the movie.
That’s when they decided to launch a TV franchise around the concept, derailing Devlin and Emmerich’s plans to film 2 more movies. The 2nd movie – according to Dean Devlin – would have introduced an alien civilization that inspired the Mayan pyramids. The 3rd movie would have explored just about every cryptid myth on Earth, tying things together in a bizarre fashion.
But the point is that MGM took control of Stargate and then shut out Devlin and Emmerich. They handed the show over to Brad Wright and Joseph Mallozzi – who had a fantastic run with it. Devlin now admits that while he resented losing control of the franchise and the way it was re-imagined, he is impressed with its lasting success and he now appreciates what was done with the franchise.
Unfortunately, little credit for that success goes to MGM. They ran into serious financial troubles and eventually declared bankruptcy as a result of the Great Recession (2008-2009). The Great Recession hurt many franchises in the science fiction and fantasy realm (like Legend of the Seeker, which was successful until the Tribune Company went into bankruptcy and pulled all expensive productions from its independent TV stations).
Stargate SG-1 had a great 10-year run, but even though Richard Dean Anderson had left the show to spend more time with his daughter, Ben Browder had come in to lead the SG-1 cast and he was doing a great job. But MGM decided to end production.
The same thing happened to Stargate: Atlantis. The show was at the height of its popularity after 5 years and there was a hope they could go into a 6th season (which would have seen the space-faring city return to the Pegasus Galaxy). But MGM pulled the plug.
Stargate: Universe sent a new group of adventurers on a journey many galaxies away aboard an Ancient spaceship named Destiny, but that show only lasted 2 seasons.
Basically, MGM ran out of money and Stargate was shut down.
Amazon Has Lots of Money
As everyone should know by now, Amazon committed $500 million to developing a mult-year Lord of the Rings TV show. The show will be set in the Second Age of Middle-earth (which is the only fictional historical period to which they have production rights). Fans are anxious and excited to see what Amazon will do with J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved literary sub-creation.
The commitment to develop other science fiction and fantasy properties is also there. Jeff Bezos is a long-time SF fan as well as a space dreamer, and he ensured that Amazon Studios was well-funded before stepping down as CEO of the world’s largest ecommerce company this month. A couple of popular original Amazon productions include Good Omens (based on a Terry Pratchett novel and starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant) and Carnival Row (an original concept set in an alternate, fantasy Earth – starring Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne). But Amazon has produced many science fiction and fantasy properties, as well as action/adventure and thrillers.
So hopes are high that Amazon Studios will find a way forward for the Stargate franchise. Brad Wright has apparently committed to bringing in cast from all three shows – provided he could get MGM to greenlight the project. Amanda Tapping recently reminded fans that no commitment has yet been made (by anyone).
Conclusion
We’ll all have to wait to see what happens, next.
But despite the disappointment fans have felt across the years every time talk of bringing the show back pops up, people have begun opening up about some of the mystifying things involved with the show. Jessica Steen finally explained why she thinks she wasn’t brought back as Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Although fans came to love Torri Higginson’s portrayal of the iconic SGA character, there was widespread dismay and disappointment over the decision not to go forward with Steen.
So we at least have some things to talk about now, and it’s not all just hopeful speculation that something magical will happen.