Studio planning on-going SG-1 movies, no Season Eleven

Stargate owner Metro Goldwyn Mayer is planning an on-going Stargate SG-1 movie franchise, a production source tells GateWorld. MGM and the show’s Vancouver-based producers are no longer pursuing an eleventh season for the hit television series, which was cancelled by U.S. broadcaster SCI FI Channel in August.

The cast of Stargate SG-1 has now signed on for the first film, though an exact list of confirmed actors is not yet available. The film begins shooting April 15 in Vancouver, followed by a June 1 start date for the second movie, according to a new IGN interview with actor Michael Shanks (“Daniel Jackson”).

Though perhaps a disappointment to fans rallying for an eleventh season at SaveStargateSG1.com, the news does offer a silver lining: should DVD sales justify the plans to make an on-going series of movies, the adventures of SG-1 will continue.

The studio was previously exploring its options for an alternate way to finance and distribute Season Eleven in the U.S. (story), calling Stargate its most important franchise second only to James Bond.

The producers announced in October that two SG-1 movies, likely direct-to-DVD, had been greenlit (story). The first will serve as the climax of the Ori story line, according to executive producer Brad Wright. It will be written by executive producer Robert C. Cooper.

The second film will be written by Wright, and is said to deal with time travel.

The studio is targetting a fall 2007 release for both films — just a few months after Stargate SG-1 ends its historic, 10-year run on cable television. They hope for at least one new SG-1 movie each year thereafter, a source tells GateWorld.

“There’s a sense of an era for us ending,” Wright told TV Guide in October, “but at the same time, we’re all positive because of the prospect of continuing forward with movies and the introduction next year of Stargate Worlds, a massive multiplayer online game.”

Stargate SG-1 takes its final television bow with 10 all-new episodes starting in April on SCI FI Channel.