It’s been twenty years since Jack O’Neill and Daniel Jackson first stepped through the Stargate, beginning a journey that would take them to farthest reaches of the galaxy — and bring the rest of us along for three films, three TV series, and more than 300 episodes of entertainment.
Stargate, the original feature film starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, opened in U.S. theaters 20 years ago today: October 28, 1994.
With a production budget around $55 million Stargate would go on to gross $71 million in the United States — a modest hit at the time. Internationally the film broke out, with a global take estimated around $196 million (according to IMDb). Less than three years later MGM had a TV series ready to go, with Stargate SG-1 bowing on Showtime in the summer of 1997. Stargate quickly became a breakout hit and, with the premiere of Stargate Atlantis in 2004, an enduring science fiction franchise.
Watch the feature film’s original trailer below.
Today Kurt Russell is still a big-screen star, appearing in a number of smaller films in recent years. In 2015 he’ll appear in Furious 7, the next installment of the Fast and the Furious series. James Spader continues to be a sought-after film and television actor, currently starring in NBC’s hit drama The Blacklist. He’s also joining the Marvel cinematic universe when he plays the lead villain in Avengers: Age of Ultron, opening wide in May 2015.
Producer Dean Devlin and director Roland Emmerich never meant for Stargate to be a stand-alone film. Though they had no involvement in any of the television series, the pair have been given a green light by MGM to reboot Stargate with the first in a planned trilogy of feature films. New adventures lie ahead …
Happy Birthday, Stargate! One more year until you turn 21, and the drinks are on us.
We’ll also be tracking the rebooted Stargate movie trilogy as it ramps up production. And we’ll continue to bring you news related to SG-1, Atlantis, SGU, and what their former cast members are up to now.
Our trip through the wormhole isn’t over yet! Stay tuned for more as we enter a new era of Stargate.
Where were you when you first saw Stargate?
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I remember when the first Stargate movie came out. I was brushing it off because I was so excited for Star Trek 7. Then I eventually watched Stargate and I was like whoa. Why did I wait? LOL
i remember watching the movie and being disappointed. i liked it all the way until they actually went through the gate. then it became uninspiring and meh.
that's why i didn't care about watching the new series (sg1), b/c i thought the series would be as meh as the movie. but my mom wanted to watch richard dean anderson, so we watched the first ep... WOW was i impressed and hooked!!
My family was pretty hyped about it by the time it came out, a family friend was part of the VFX team (supposedly, he got to stir the tank for the vortex part of the kawoosh sequence), so we heard all sorts of hype about it, and I saw it in theaters on opening weekend. I was instantly hooked. Egyptians, aliens, Air Force, archeologists, what more could a seven year old sci-fi fan want?
It's like yesterday for me,love the Idea of Star Gate the movie is still one of the best.:-)
Never liked the movie, always thought "Children of the Gods" was far better. AKA the first two part episode of SG-1.
i really enjoyed the movie tbh it would of been better with Richard dean Anderson though, James Spader and Micheal Shanks were so identical so he was fine in the role. a credit to Micheal Shanks portraying him so well. still id give it a 9.5/10 and i can't wait for the new film!
20 years.... oh man.
"Where were you when you first saw Stargate?"
In the theater, with family, enjoying the movie immensely and totally blown away.
@Mr Oragahn“Where were you when you first saw Stargate?”
Well I was 4 years old..
I saw the movie six times in the theater. By the fourth time the manager, a friend of mine, let me in for free because he knew I'd blow at least $20 on concessions! I gravitated to the film because of the whole Egyptian pantheon angle.
The first time I saw the movie I sat in the fourth row and when James Spader went through the Gate I was so close it felt as if I were traveling through as well. The next day I bought the soundtrack and bought the novelization that accompanied the movie. As soon as the movie came out on VHS (yes boys and girls it was the dark ages) I bought it. Then the extended VHS version came out and I bought that. Then years later the dvd for the extended version came out and I bought that.
While I've enjoyed the series that followed, I've always thought Stargate the movie was better. But when SG1 came out I subscribed to Showtime. Once SG1 moved to Sci-Fi I cancelled Showtime.
I do hope that Devlin and Emmerich get to do the trilogy their way. I do have one request: David Arnold must be brought back to do the soundtrack. His music captured the action adventure spirit and infused it with an ancient Egyptian flare. Hopefully I won't have wait long.