Categories: General

Stargate’s Kindler writing Universal Soldier reboot, Cooper penning Lifetime pilot

There’s life after Stargate not only for the SG-1, Atlantis, and SGU actors, but for the franchise’s writing and producer talent, as well.  Among them are Damian Kindler and Robert C. Cooper, who have just had new projects announced.

Kindler (who is currently working on the fourth season of Syfy’s Sanctuary, which he created) has been tapped to write a pilot for a new television adaptation of Universal Soldier, the 1992 sci-fi movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren.  The story follows a secret Army project that reanimates dead soldiers and uses them as advanced super-soldiers engineered for secret missions.  There were a number of straight-to-DVD and theatrical sequels, most recently 2010’s Universal Soldier: Redemption.

The original film was directed by Roland Emmerich, who would go on to direct Stargate in 1994.

Universal Soldier will be produced by FremantleMedia North America, with Allen Shapiro and Craig Baumgarten serving as executive producers.

Kindler’s production company is also working Sherwood, on a pilot project for Syfy, said to be an outer space adaptation of the Robin Hood legend. There’s been no news on that project since it was announced in the summer of 2010 (story).

Robert C. Cooper

Robert Cooper will write and executive produce a new series for Lifetime, a 1930s period piece that chronicles the life of The Hollywood Reporter creator William Wilkerson. In addition to his work as THR‘s editor-in-chief and front-page columnist, Wilkerson was a well-known restauranteur and nightclub owner, and an outspoken anti-communist.

The series is being produced by GK-TV and Johnny Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil.

Cooper comes off a recent stint on Transporter: The Series, in production for a 2012 premiere on Cinemax in the U.S.  He helped get the new production up and running along with former Stargate execs Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, who unexpected left Transporter in August over creative differences.

Darren

Darren created GateWorld in 1999 and is the site's managing editor. He lives in the Seattle area with his wife and three spin-off Stargate fans.

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  • As for Sanctuary, the handwriting may already be on the wall. They have already had their episode order reduced to 13 from last seasons' 22. Especially awhen Eureka has been givin the boot when their numbers looking strong.

    Actually, I have always wondered why Martin Gero jumped ship when SGA was going so strong in their 5th season.
    .

  • I don't know the process of getting a television series from concept to broadcasting episodes. Since Kindler is tapped to write a pilot for a "Universal Soldier" television series, does that mean that a network is thinking about broadcasting it? If so, is it a premium, cable, or broadcast network? Or, is a "Universal Soldier" television series still at the point where no one is committed to making, or broadcasting, the show? I wish Cooper the best on his THR series.

  • That worries me a bit about Sanctuary too, but I always figured that it wasn't going to last much longer anyhow. :(

    Well, guess Rob Cooper is finally getting to do the things he wanted to do all along.

  • I'm guessing Sanctuary will have one more season after the current one. SyFy seems to make a habit of giving shows 5 seasons. SG-1 had 5 seasons(on Sci-Fi), Atlantis had 5 seasons, Eureka will have 5 seasons.

  • @Naomi - What it means is that someone has an interest in such a product. It could be a production company, it could be a network, it could be an individual producer/writer. But at this point, it would not necessarily mean there is any chance of it ever getting to the point of even recording a pilot, yet alone becoming a show. It's also possible that even if the show does move forward, the script that Kindler writes may not be one that ever gets used.

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