Stargate is one of the greatest science fiction universes in modern pop culture, and the franchise is ready for a comeback. But capitalizing on fans’ current enthusiasm will take swift action from Amazon, the company that is now in the process of purchasing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $8.45 billion.
MGM’s library includes some 4,000 films and 17,000 hours of television, including the Stargate franchise. Starting with the 1994 feature film from Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, Stargate spans three movies, 354 hours of television, and a movie-length Web series. Through first-run cable, syndication, international distribution, licensing, and home video and streaming, Stargate is a billion-dollar property. When it was in production between 1997 and 2011, Stargate was said to be regarded inside the halls of MGM as the studio’s second biggest franchise (after James Bond).
But with the exception of the 2018 Web series Stargate Origins, the gate has been quiet for more than a decade. Stargate Universe went off the air in 2011, in part a casualty of MGM’s bankruptcy the previous year.
GateWorld has been covering all things Stargate for more than 20 years. Last week when we polled readers about their feelings on Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, they voted overwhelmingly in favor — precisely because Amazon has the ability to break the logjam and get a new Stargate series moving again.
Despite being benched for the 2010s Stargate is still a relatively big brand for MGM, and after 10 years off the air it is ripe for a return with a new series. It should also appeal to Amazon to move quickly on Stargate, because science fiction is very friendly to the streaming audience — and Amazon is about to have something of a need here. The Expanse is currently in production on its sixth and (for now) final season, so Amazon will want another genre franchise ready on deck behind it.
Stargate also has a live project that has been in development for more than two years — so it’s ready to go, once Amazon has its chance to weigh in on the pitch. And to make the deal even sweeter? The fourth live-action Stargate television series pitch hails not from some untested newcomer, but from Brad Wright himself — co-creator of all three previous series.
As our friend and industry expert Jenny Stiven put it on “Dial the Gate” last week: Stargate is low-hanging fruit. It should be an easy choice for Amazon to act on this franchise quickly.
But will you, Amazon, make the show that legions of existing Stargate fans actually want to see?
STARGATE ‘REIMAGINED’?
The day that the purchase of MGM was announced outgoing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said: “The acquisition thesis here is really very simple. MGM has a vast, deep catalog of much beloved intellectual property. And with the talent at Amazon and the talent at MGM Studio, we can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21st century. It will be a lot of fun work and people who love stories will be the big beneficiaries.”
That’s encouraging and also a bit unsettling for Stargate’s long-time global fanbase, which seems right now to be growing as new and younger viewers discover the three shows for the very first time on streaming services. Bezos suggests that library IP (like Stargate) is ripe for new development projects … but also that Amazon wants to work with MGM to “reimagine” those franchises.
After MGM picked up the Stargate feature film in 1994 the TV universe was created by Brad Wright, Jonathan Glassner, and Robert C. Cooper over 14 years in production. To long-time Stargate fans who fell in love with that world, “reimagine” sounds uncomfortably close to “reboot” — as in, wipe out more than 350 episodes of continuity and start over. And that is precisely what most fans don’t want.
On the other hand, “reimagining” can certainly be a more benign word. It may simply mean returning to the universe that fans love, only now with fresh eyes and a new idea for storytelling. This we would love to see, so long as it’s an idea that honors Stargate’s long and treasured legacy and avoids rebooting the world.
The dreaded “reboot” might be easier on a new staff of writers, but for fans it is a bulldozer that demolishes something we have known and loved for a significant portion of our lives. Amazon cannot take for granted that a critical mass of those fans will show up for a completely different Stargate universe.
We’re still here, watching and celebrating these shows and welcoming newcomers to this fandom — now more than 10 years since the last show went off the air. Many fandoms slowly wither and die; but Stargate fans are perhaps as vocal and animated today as they were in 2011.
Why the enthusiasm? Why such a deep-seated commitment to this fictional world? It’s because we love these characters and the world they inhabit. We welcomed Sam and Daniel, John and Teyla, Everett and Camille and Eli into our homes every week. Stargate was “appointment television.” And through reruns and streaming, boxed sets, novels, and conversation with our fellow fans those characters have continued to live in our minds for a quarter of a century.
Stargate is special. Stargate matters to our lives. These characters and stories have shaped us in innumerable ways. If Amazon wishes to sustain and nurture that passion, the last thing the franchise’s new owners should do is take the canon behind the woodshed so they can cast a new Jack O’Neill, in the hopes of lowering the bar of access for new viewers.
New viewers are still jumping onto the Stargate bandwagon right now, each and every day — with 354 episodes and counting! These viewers are smart enough to catch up with backstory and in-universe rules. It’s simply a task for the new show’s writers to help new viewers come along, just like Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper did when they launched Stargate Atlantis to millions of cable viewers in 2004, and Stargate Universe in 2009. Both shows expanded Stargate’s mythology, but were also eminently accessible.
The show that we’d like to see is a fourth series in the existing canon. And I think this is true of the vast majority of the still-active fanbase. It shouldn’t just reunite the former shows’ cast members (though we’d certainly like to see them turn up every now and then!) but build a new team, pushing Stargate forward with a new setting and a new idea driving the narrative each week.
“Reimagine” Stargate for a new generation, but within the existing canon. Otherwise you risk burning a very active fandom, and having to start from scratch rather than adding new viewers to our number.
A DEEP WELL OF STORIES
Just as that shimmering puddle evokes, Stargate is a deep well of possibilities for new adventures. That gate is the ultimate science fiction story generator, and in each of its iterations the franchise has excelled at exploring the human condition.
Today Stargate may not have the viewership or the cultural recognition of Star Trek. It may not sell as many subscriptions as the MCU. But one of the reasons why Stargate is every bit as grand in its potential is the nature of the Stargate device, and the way that the writers have built out this universe of humans and aliens, their conflicts, and their alliances. If Star Trek is a utopian vision of who we might one day become, Stargate has always been about who we are now: We’re out there, stumbling about the galaxy, trying to make it a better place.
With a fourth show and an ever-growing franchise that world will no doubt continue to expand into new corners, with new teams discovering new worlds and new threats — both within and without.
Amazon, this is such an easy choice. You’re buying MGM in order to make the most of its well of stories — and there is perhaps no well as deep as the Stargate. It’s a plumb franchise with an eager and global fanbase. It has already laid fallow for ten years. And one of the creators of that universe is at your door with a script.
Say yes.
Although the acquisition of MGM won’t be complete until late this year (at the earliest, and pending regulatory approval), it’s not too soon to start making plans. Stargate fans are ready to be won over — but not just any spinny gate story will do.
A fan
How do you think Amazon should move Stargate forward? Let’s hear it in the comments below! But remember to keep it nice and positive: Bezos has already saved one beloved sci-fi franchise, and he might be watching …
Discovery of a Furling base leads a new team into an unknown galaxy full of new tech and infinite possibilities.
We are ready for more Stargate!!! I got ALOT of mates that have been streaming episodes and catching up on the franchise over the years and we are all hoping for more to come!
how true,
Have you signed the petition?
https://www.change.org/p/amazon-amazon-now-you-have-mgm-stargate-deserves-you-expert-attention-bring-it-back-please
Truth to be told, I’d rather have a reboot with new characters and enemies over a non-fixed continuation, but I’d rather have a continuation that fixes Heroes than a reboot.
In order of what I’d watch:
Continuation that fixes Heroes >>>>> Reboot >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Non-fixed continuation
(I wouldn’t watch the third option at all)
Elisabeth, you and another poster here, Rebekka, have posted about this. What did Heroes break? Maybe I’m just not remembering something? I would certainly love a continuation of the Stargate story and agree with the author that they should not just do a reboot. For me, the 3 biggest negatives with Stargate (but vastly outweighed by all the incredible positives) were: Endings of races and characters that had survived for millennia all in such a short span of 3 in-show years (Goa’uld, the Asgard, Selmak, Replicators, the Ori, etc.). One or two of these would have been OK, but so… Read more »
It killed off my favorite character (Janet) in such badly written episodes and then pretty much forgotten. There was no relevance to it and the whole thing was just poorly executed and downright unfair.
Oh, yes, I was also very sad by her loss. She was a great character. But I don’t think that undermines the show at all. It was a poignant reminder that war is dangerous and life is fragile and temporary.
I think that’s a bad excuse, especially when the writing is bad and the aftermath is non-existent. It’s just lazy, cheap and cruel to fans. It was all irrelevant. Who wants to keep watching when a show isn’t enjoyable to them anymore? So it DEFINITELY undermines the show. I only signed the petition in hope for them fixing it, otherwise I wont be watching. After all I’m unable to watch past Death Knell in all my rewatches.
It was decades ago. Get over it. It’s unhealthy to not let go of the past.
No, I wont get over it. It’s more unhealthy giving up everything you like.
I stand behind you, even though I am not quite as upset about Janet as you are, I agree with your reasoning. Yes, the way in which they killed Janet was not right. Some people think people like us are upset only because the character is gone, but it’s more about how & why it happened. I feel the same way about Glenn in TWD, as he was my favorite character, it’s the way they handled it. I really love Janet, she was an important character to keep. I remember reading something about how Don S. Davis was upset about… Read more »
Stargate has always been a very positive view of human nature, despite the flaws and mistakes. The Teams have always done their best to do the right thing. I look forward to a new Stargate that honors the good in humans and isn’t just another dystopian view of the big “mess” that the world has made. If they revive, renew or reimagine SG, I hope that they will assemble teams with that view in mind.
Yes! And the sense of wonder when discovering foreign planets, species and technology.
These were the 2 things that made it so special for me. SGU somehow lost the positive view. It felt like they had to compensate the positive view from all previous series. But it got better in the end.
The positive view is a must have for a new series. There are already too many (scifi) shows that do the opposite.
Yes! A new Stargate is what society really needs right now, more than ever!
I’m ready for a new Stargate series! For starters, I want to know what REALLY became of the Destiny – her crew deserves so much better they they got. I don’t mind re-imagined, as long as it lives in the universe we all know and love dearly. But what I’d really like to see is the Stargate program Now, after all that’s happened in the world. Did covid-19 spread through the gate before we knew better? What about all of our beloved team members? Amazon knows we fans WILL and DO support the franchise– and that means Money. With the… Read more »
They are still there on stasis chambers . 10 years has passed…and they are still there…destiny lost somehow between galaxies :P
?
I would love a continuation or a new series in the same cannon, the one thing I am not interested in is what it would be like in the present world with COVID and all else. Enough of that and enough of hyper reality shows where everything is dark and everyone is always suffering and people dying left and right (trend in most shows today). That would really suck for me. Stargate never really took up current events as they happened anymore than Star Trek and I loved that. I don’t watch shows to reflect our crappy reality. I watch… Read more »
And that’s exactly WHY the Heroes two-parter ruined Stargate in season 7. It ruined people’s escape route, not just mine but a couple of friends and MANY others too.
By killing off a side character?
She’s not a side character.
She didn’t appear on the opening credits, never goes on an adventure, and I can’t even think of an episode that revolves around her. She’s a side character, whether you rec your own comments 400 times or not lmao
She’s between main and side, so definitely not a side. And why do you have to be so cruel? I bet your fav is alive, if not you wouldn’t be suck a jerk. What a bully.
Look what happened with Discovery. It ignores the established Star Trek universe and has split the fanbase. Amazon would do well to learn from the Paramount + mess and work to please the fans.
Exactly!!!! Please don’t STD my Stargate!
If you think it ignores the established Star Trek universe, then you know very little about Star Trek. Stop being a Simpsons Comic Book Guy type.
As long as Bad Robot – destroyers of Star Trek, Star Wars, Superman (& LOTR?) – isn’t involved I’ll have cautious hope
Please keep Alex Kurtzman as far from this show as humanly possible.
This is true, in aspects……
Stargate was already destroyed in season 7 with Heroes.
Rebekka, you’ve posted this several times here. Maybe this is a common feeling among my fellow fans, but it’s new to me. I always found the Hereos pair of episodes to be really good, especially because it starts seeming like a cheap re-use episode, only to become much more profound to the series and touching by the end. Was it the death of a character or something else that leads you to think this episode broke the show?
Wouldn’t a show be ruined for you if YOUR favorite character was killed off in terrible written episodes, executed poorly and just to be mostly forgotten? This is nothing more than lazy and unfair writing.
Ah, OK. Yes, I understand that. I really liked Dr. Frasier too and thought she was much more believable as a doctor than the general’s daughter who took over the job. I also thought the same about Hammond vs. Landry and O’Neill vs. Mitchell (though I realize none of those other characters died). I liked all of those characters, including the replacements, but the originals really set our minds eye for who the doctor should be and the general and leader of SG-1. It was virtually impossible for any replacement character to live up to the original, simply because the… Read more »
I didn’t say that it’s a plothole, but all it does is unfairly remove Janet and replace her considering she was mostly forgotten. I’m tired of every TV show killing off my favorite character and this was by far the worst written/executed one, especially with no aftermath or relevance at all. Killing her off was pointless, unfair and cruel to her fans. Especially since they tried that insulting and cheap “oh no, Jack died… don’t worry, it was JUST Janet” trick. That combined with just forgetting her makes it look like she doesn’t even matter. Honestly, I don’t feel like… Read more »
I was terribly upset by the senseless killing off of Janet Frazier! I’ve never heard anything close to a valid reason why they had to kill HER off! It was totally unnecessary! But a new series is absolutely beyond the shadow of any doubt NOT EVER going to resurrect Dr. Frazier… So, you might as well not even think about getting your hopes up. The Stargate franchise betrayed you. They ruined Stargate for you. As awful as that reality is, it absolutely is NOT healthy for you to harbor such vitriol for so long. But if you want to let… Read more »
This thing with making a “reboot” is working ONLY for things that are very old, or bad etc . It is that situation when you start over again , amd try to do it better , take the idea and you develop that idea on current era with fresh new style and CGI etc , but when that thing is already very good , not to old and amazing with a lot of fans is stupid to even think at reboot, in that case you made a continuity with fresh crew and CGI , but in EXACTLY the same main… Read more »
A Stargate reboot works then, because the show was ruined in season 7.
I don’t think it works for even old stuff. While Hollywood is obsessed with remaking everything even if it was just released – think the awesome Train to Busan for one, it nearly never ever works. Even for stuff that’s way old. For instance, when I was young I LOVED Conan the Barbarian and Clash of the Titans. They remade those something like 30 years later and they were such utter steaming piles of failure its hard to even fathom that they attempted to release them. Most remakes totally misunderstand why things in the past were successful. A movie like… Read more »
If Jeff would also be kind to recharge Dark Matter i would definitely subscribe to AP! Stargate & Dark Matter both have big potential for success. So plz pick up Stargate and also Dark Matter before the characters get too old.
I’ve watched every Stargate series till the end, though Stargate Atlantis was full of action pact scenes, The Original Stagate series was full off adventure and a lot of funny Screen,s that made the it more fun to watch. Stargate Universe was great and it’s ending left everyone with that Turst of wanting to Continue On, even if it was in the future. All 3 Stargate series were great and I’m Sure everyone is Going to miss the Old crew, but I’m sure with the right directors Producers, People will watch it and love it like I did. Signed a… Read more »
Well written. So true.
“But will you, Amazon, make the show that legions of existing Stargate fans actually want to see?”
This is the question that has been foremost on my mind since the announcement.
There’s a saying going around in some fan circles that I think is apt here:
“Without respect, we reject”
In this case I think respect means to respect the existing canon and tell new stories in a universe that has infinite possibilities to explore. Reboots may be easy but how many have really succeeded? Think it over Amazon!
I watched universe after watching only a handful of SG episodes and the film. I thought they were really hitting their stride when it was cancelled. I’d love to see it make a return, but please God get them to use decent writers and people that are invested in it. I’ve so so much crap SciFi on the streaming platforms. All hut hut mindless violence or utterly stupid premises.
Maybe you were able to like Universe since you only watched a handful of SG eps. Universe was so drastically different and unlikeable for me. Other than that there was an actual stargate onboard, the show was completely out of place in the SG universe for me. I tried so hard to watch it, but I just hated it so much. I strongly hated all characters. While all SG and Atlantis characters were memorable and you wanted to see more because you liked them, they were funny and good but flawed characters. Meanwhile the Universe characters, I just hoped would… Read more »
“Alexa, dial P3G-552.”
I’m seriously here for it! I’d love to see a continuation tht continues to focus on gate travel over battleship-heavy stories, but either way Amazon would be foolish to let this ‘low hanging fruit’ rot on the vine.
Furlings, who, what why, where???
Atlantis needs to go back,
And universe ended in such a way it is very possible to start where it ended, maybe just with a failure that aged them a bit after a engine might have blown a they had to drift a bit??
I still binge watch all episodes and movies, on dvd and streaming.
So yeah, please bring it back…
I agree, there was no real story about the Fur-lings. Only a brief mentioning of them. We need more, how and why.
In my opinion, rebooting Stargate would be a strange choice for Amazon to make–they just purchased 370 hours of content for Prime’s streaming service. Creating a new show, easy on new comers, in the existing continuity, INCREASES the value of those 370 hours of content. Rebooting the franchise DECREASES it’s value to the streaming service, because it disincentivizes new viewers from consuming the older shows.
This does not seem like a good business strategy for Amazon. And I believe they’ll do what’s best for the platform, not for whatever creatives they hire to make a new show.
Actually, I think they should reboot stargate. the old continuity has become a mess, and ended a decade ago. And they’ve already done everything they could think off anyway. Might be complicated for new viewers with all that backstory. A fourth series in the old universe might end up like the third. SG1 was the best and most beloved stargate. It was a contempory series about explorers going through the stargate and visiting alien planets, many of them resembling earth past. With aliens pretending to be old gods. We should get back to that. but a reboot should not be… Read more »
If we get a new Stargate, hopefully it would be what Brad Wright envisioned and not a dark, gritty attempt at a new show. Star Trek has gone that way and it has generally been poorly received, both by Discovery and even more so with Picard by their fan base. Amazon already has a fantastic dark sci-fi series in The Expanse. The best route would to keep the same fun, lighthearted adventure theme that SG1 and Atlantis had throughout their runs. It’s a different feel from typical scifi shows and that’s what makes it so appealing. After all, it’s the… Read more »
Stargate was ruined in season 7 with Heroes, so it definitely WASN’T fun throughout its run. If Stargate returns they NEED to fix it.
Yeah, definitely disagree there. Ba’al became a central villain after season 7, and is generally regarded as the best villain across the 3 series. Also Lost City, Moebius, etc. The doc was great of course, but it definitely didn’t ruin the show.
Who’s you’re favorite character? Because everyone who never understood has their favorite character still alive. My favorite was killed off in badly written episodes in an unfair way, poorly executed and for her to just be forgotten for the most part. So it definitely ruined the show. Would YOU enjoy a show where your favorite is absent? In all my favorite shows my favorite character was killed off and in Janet’s case it was the worst executed way of them all. Either you would understand me or you haven’t experienced this, if it’s the latter then lucky you. Now put… Read more »
On my wishlist would be the SG1 series remastered. The most magical moments of discovery and imagination happened in SD.
I would like to see a series like SG1 that just go on missions to other planets to discover new races, technology, and put the team in situations. That’s what I loved about it.
Perhaps even another movie with SG1 that covers a complex enemy that doesn’t take a whole season to discover and battle and rebattle in the next season. They start and resolve during the span of the movie.
The possibilities are endless.
With the way sg1 ended with the ori storyline still hanging in the balance there was no justice in how the series was left off. Hopefully they will do it justice and do it right.
SG1 got a good finish with both the TV movies to wrap it up. Atlantis and Destiny did not.
What are you talking about? They wrapped up the Ori storyline.
Jeremy, have you seen Stargate: The Ark of Truth? The straight-to-DVD movie followed up on Season 10 of the series and wrapped up the Ori storyline.
Then it was followed by Stargate: Continuum, the last SG-1 story (and in my book one of the best).
I would love it a story was told of the ancients. The beginning. There travels. There evolution. Then their reversal of policy with interfering with the lower planes and a return to the milky way. A fo that noth ancients and humans must stand against that was woken by the Stargate Universe
crew. Tie everything together.
great news thank God!
As long as Brad Wright and Co will make future shows Im 100% calm. Since he showed that he can make different shows depending on what ideas he have (SGU as a bright example – truly masterpiece spin-off that was like a fresh air for the franchise). Im okay if the next show will be build on SG-1\SGA formula because the show that directly involves SGC teams must be like SG-1. And, of course, Amazon must understand once and for all – NO REBOOT for Stargate. NOT EVEN CLOSE. Have respect for that universe and try your best as much… Read more »
Come on, folks. Stargate is a lot of fun… but it’s a TV show. That’s all. It’s not something that is important, and if it matters to your life, then you might want to rethink your priorities. This kind of melodrama disturbs me.
Sondegard: I think that’s a fair assessment of the way that most people watch most shows. But then there is that special show, that comes along when the right person needs it, and can play a part in their lives that is much more than an hour of escapism or entertainment every week. In the last 20 years I’ve been countless people from around the world who really have been impacted positively by Stargate and its characters. Maybe it helped you get through a tough illness, a break-up, or other personal loss. Maybe you watched it with your parents growing… Read more »
Darren: Exactly!!! I can understand that everybody has their own way to face the past but hey Stargate literally changed my life. Back in 2009, when I found SGU was never gonna get released in Japan, as a 11 year old kid, I lost hopes for weekly habit so I studied English just to be able to what’s going on to the crew of Destiny. I have learnt to speak a different language from SGU watching it with gate world transcript haha. And 10 years later that kid became an assistant director in a TV company that seeks to become… Read more »
YES PLEASE!
I really think that Amazon making a new Stargate series is a no brainer. There’s a built in fan base, and there’s hundreds of hours of prior content that newcomers to the franchise could watch. A reboot would be a mistake because not only would it frustrate fans but it wouldn’t give new viewers a reason to go back and watch the older series. While it would be easier for the writers to start over, I really don’t think the prior series have hamstrung a continuation in any significant way. Seasons 9 and 10 of SG-1 proved that writers could… Read more »
Since no one has brought it up yet, I’ll ask if Charlie Cohen is still with MGM and can continue to cheerlead for a new show eventually?
He is not, unfortunately. I believe I heard that Charlie left or retired sometime around the 2010 bankruptcy.
But I do know there are Stargate fans inside MGM, including executives who want to get the franchise back up and running.
I think they should continue it 10 years out from where it ended. I think it would be nice to run it with a group of people who stumbled upon it in someway during the downtime and don’t have any major ties to the original 3 series themselves, other than getting all wrapped up in it because of what the found. They get read in on it because they have unique skills and viewpoints but don’t actually merge with the existing sg infrastructure. However it’s important to explain where our beloved characters ended up after the series went off the… Read more »
Ugh .. just saw this:
https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/9/22570797/ftc-amazon-mgm-investigation-probe-lina-khan
Not that an FTC investigation wasn’t expected, but with Lina Khan as the new head of the FTC I would think she will do everything in her power to delay and block the sale or aspects of. Things may end up being be more than just delayed if she has any say about it. Wish the head of the FTC wasn’t a 12 year old girl who hates Amazon and frankly, I don’t care about Amazon’s monopoly if it means I get SG back. Sorry, not sorry.
It’s a tough one, I only just finished watching SGU. I hadn’t realised that I had not watched all of season two and was really disappointed that it had no real conclusion. Picking up this series would be easy if they can get the actors back on board(pun not intended). It took Eli longer than 2 weeks to fix the last pod, life support drained too many systems and the FTL dropped slightly short of the next galaxy meaning they have been drifting for 7 or so years longer than expected. For me SG1 broke when the system lords were… Read more »
Yeah, Furling is big point, but i think we sholud continue with story of Stargate Universe, they stop it just when start to be most exciting, so i wish to continue story of Stargate Universe and Atlantis too, or make good film which finish them or prepare it for new cotinue of story. And in Universe i wish to know what is the signal which they are looking for, what they are found.
Pick up from SGU !!!!!