Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping Talk Possible Stargate Reunion

Former Stargate SG-1 cast mates Richard Dean Anderson (“Jack O’Neill”) and Amanda Tapping (“Samantha Carter”) treated fans to a rare joint appearance last weekend, talking about MacGyver, Stargate … and their interest in a possible SG-1 revival.

The duo appeared in front of a packed house of hundreds of Stargate fans at Wales Comic Con on April 27. They also signed autographs and posed for photo ops with fans.

After a quick catch-up with what both of them have been doing lately, the panel session turned to audience Q&A. Some highlights are below — but the real question on everyone’s mind came near the end of the panel: Is there any chance that we will ever see SG-1 on TV again?

“My initial statement will be: ‘God, I hope so!'” Anderson said. “Because there are elements of working with that group that is just so dynamic, and so wonderful and comfortable and creative. We had a freedom with each other that I haven’t seen or experienced in other venues.

“It’s not really up to us. I don’t know how the other actors are feeling about it. But I don’t sense that Brad has got anything cooking. I’d suggest write letters …”

Wright has stated as recently as January that he and MGM are in early development on some sort of Stargate project. But the studio has remained mum, and whether or not it will make it to screen (or involve any of the SG-1 cast) remains to be seen.

“I know that there is interest from MGM, for sure, to try to revitalize the franchise in some way,” Tapping chimed in. “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 mini-series. I don’t think that’s out of the question.”

“I think it’s more possible now than it was, say five years ago,” she added. “I think the idea of it has been germinating for a long time now and MGM has actually seemed to have latched on to that idea. And because there are so many shows that are being rebooted, it’s more possible now than it ever was. So never say never. I think it would be quite fun to revisit it for a period of time.”

Anderson also joked about the dynamic on the show’s set, including his comedic sensibility … and inability to remember longer bits of dialogue.

“They had sense enough to give Michael [Shanks] and Amanda all the dialogue,” he said — “or the main stay, anyway. And I was relegated to the reactionary, ‘What?‘ Which kind of helped the dynamic along, but there was no way we could do it any other way! I couldn’t memorize that dialogue to save my life. And she could.”

He then turned to Amanda and pronounced, “Thank God you were on that show!”

Some additional highlights:

• Amanda has recently directed episodes of The 100, Blindspot, and Supernatural. She’s soon to direct Motherland, and return to Netflix’s Anne with an E.
• Rick’s daughter Wylie (born during SG-1‘s second season) is now in college in Boston, studying theater and the arts.
• Rick addresses the new reboot of MacGyver, which he doesn’t find true to the franchise he helped create.
• They talk about the filming of Season One’s “Solitudes,” including the infamous on-set gag.
• Rick talks about ad-libbing and injecting humor into the series (… and being told when to cool it by the producers).
• They also talked about Sam and Jack’s relationship, of course, and how they would both like to see the ‘ship finally paid off.

Watch the full, 40-minute panel video below, courtesy of YouTube user “All Things Nerdy.” We’ll have much more to come from Wales Comic Con in the days ahead, including photos and a complete convention report from Stargate fans on the ground in Wales.