It’s no question the Stargate franchise has an avid fanbase, as shown by the movie and the success of shows such as Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe (RIP), not to mention web series Stargate Origins. At some point there were talks about a second movie as well, but where we are at currently does not seem to be on the brink of making it happen, although Roland Emmerich says there were talks.
The popular director of such projects as Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, Midway and of course 1994’s Stargate was recently doing press for his 2019 WWII film’s DVD release. When you have such a large catalog of movies to talk about, occasionally things like Stargate do come up. Here’s what Roland Emmerich had to say to Comicbook.com about the movie:
Yeah, I kind of talked a little bit with MGM about Stargate. But I think this is going nowhere because there was another TV show, and they kind of realized that if it's like some sort of a mixed bag.
As recently as 2015, which just so happens to be prior to the release of Stargate Origins, Roland Emmerich was working with Dean Devlin on creating a reboot of the film. Sounds cool right? Roland Emmerich had previously mentioned things were "looking good" there for a little while, but then time passed and like many great ideas, this one seemingly puttered out over time.
More than a year ago producer Dean Devlin talked about creating Geostorm and coming to the realization that perhaps he shouldn’t be doing big studio movies. He’d left the Stargate reboot and really wasn’t sure if MGM wanted to move forward or not.
That’s the last thing we really heard about bringing the popular franchise back to the big screen, although Amanda Tapping and Richard Dean Anderson did reunite recently and also did express interest in doing some sort of continuation. When they spoke out they also noted there was interest from MGM, with Tapping noting,
I know that there’s interest from MGM, for sure, to try to revitalize the franchise in some way. And I know, having talked to Brad, that they’ve approached him about it. It’s not black and white, for sure. I think it would be great to revisit it, even if it was a series of movies, like Movie of the Week-type movies, or a limited-run miniseries. I don’t think that’s out of the question. I think it’s more possible now than it was, say five years ago.
So, from the looks of things MGM is aware the fanbase might appreciate new Stargate content and some people have been approached, but for whatever reason (Budget? Talent?), it just hasn’t come together yet. In more bad news, Stargate Command shut down at the tail end of 2019, too. So, there’s really nothing sort of propelling a new project forward at the moment.
To me, Amanda Tapping's idea of a one-off movie or a limited run actually sounds ideal. Some sort of fan event on a smaller scale could actually work budget-wise and could bring characters people really love back for one more round. This obviously wouldn't be the same thing as the project Roland Emmerich was propelling forward just a few years ago, but it would be something that I think could have the potential to resonate.
But for now, we'll have to wait, hope and revisit that Season 4, Episode 6 time loop episode to buoy our spirits when things feel particularly bleak. There's nothing like watching people play golf through the Stargate, after all.
