Amazon
It’s official: Amazon owns the Stargate franchise.
Today Amazon and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announced that their plan to have the retail giant acquire the historic Hollywood studio has been formally completed — a little under 10 months after it was announced. The merger has been on the slow train of regulatory approval by U.S. and European Union antitrust agencies, and looks to have cleared the last hurdle this week … at least for the time being.
More on that in a moment.
We’ve been tracking the deal and what it will mean for the Stargate television and film franchise since the companies first announced the $8.45 billion acquisition in May of 2021. Amazon has purchased MGM for two big reasons: to bolster its Prime Video streaming video-on-demand (SVOD) offerings with MGM’s rich catalog of more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV shows; and to make use of MGM’s catalog of intellectual property to create new film and television projects. Below we’ll talk about each of those in turn.
Although the companies did not announce any restructuring in today’s announcement, it is expected that MGM will continue to operate as its own creative entity under the umbrella of Amazon Studios, which is overseen by Amazon’s Mike Hopkins. And Amazon said that it is not planning any layoffs at MGM, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“We are excited for MGM and its bounty of iconic brands, legendary films and television series, and our incredible team and creative partners to join the Prime Video family,” MGM’s chief operating officer Chris Brearton said in today’s statement. “MGM has been responsible for the creation of some of the most well-known and critically acclaimed films and television series of the past century. We look forward to continuing that tradition as we head into this next chapter, coming together with the great team at Prime Video and Amazon Studios to provide audiences with the very best in entertainment for years to come.”
Deadline says that Hopkins reached out to MGM employees by e-mail today, reiterating that no one is losing their job. A town hall for company employees is set for tomorrow to outline what is next.
MGM’s IP includes Stargate, James Bond, Rocky and Creed, Robocop, Vikings, The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, Legally Blonde, the Pink Panther, and more. As of today Amazon is in a position to green-light new projects for any of these.
That, of course, has immediate implications for the Stargate science fiction franchise.
MGM’s catalog includes three Stargate movies (four if you count the feature cut of 2018’s Web series Stargate Origins), ten seasons of Stargate SG-1, five seasons of Stargate Atlantis, and two seasons of Stargate Universe. (There’s also 26 episodes of the short-lived animated series, Stargate Infinity.)
All said that’s 380 episodes of television and more than 275 hours of content in the Stargate franchise. Now more than 10 years after the last show went off the air, Stargate’s global fan base is also remarkably active — and noisy about our desire for new content from the studio to continue to grow the franchise.
Amazon’s ownership of MGM and Stargate will most likely have one immediate effect: the existing shows ought to be added to Prime Video’s free streaming catalog for subscribers.
SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe (and the movies) have all been available on Prime Video on a rotating basis. As Amazon’s license with MGM expired they would be removed, only to spontaneously show up again months or years later. Now that Amazon actually owns the content, Stargate is likely to find a more permanent — and global — streaming home.
The company could also continue to license the shows to other providers, such as Netflix (which currently has SG-1) and Hulu. The ongoing licensing of its content to various parties around the world is a significant part of MGM’s business. But considering the price tag for MGM, it is understandable that some of this content is bound to become an Amazon exclusive.
Given that Prime Video has had Stargate in the recent past, the shows could show up there any time. Assuming that MGM does not have any outstanding licensing arrangements that include exclusivity, Amazon could flip a switch and start streaming Stargate again tomorrow.
The Stargate franchise is well positioned to be among MGM’s franchises first to get the green light for new content. Aside from the active fan base and its ongoing campaign to support a new show set in the existing canon, co-creator Brad Wright is already waiting in the wings with a pilot script written for MGM in 2020.
As Amazon has already offered the previous shows to its Prime Video customers, it has its own in-house data on Stargate’s popularity.
Last year Amazon invested an astonishing $13 billion in video and music content, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But with The Expanse having come to an end earlier this year, there is a Stargate-sized hole in Prime’s lineup of original science fiction. (The service offers the Star Trek franchise not as Amazon Studios original series but only in a carriage deal with Paramount.)
Hopkins reportedly wrote to MGM’s employees: “Now that the deal has closed and we are able to shift from planning to working together, we’ll be collaborating with MGM leaders on the opportunities ahead in the coming weeks.”
Giving a go-ahead to MGM and Wright to produce the first season of a fourth live-action, in-canon television series would be the easiest and most logical choice at this stage. But Amazon could also explore other types of productions for the Stargate brand — from a movie or miniseries picking up on the unfinished stories of Atlantis and Universe, to a theatrical feature film, to the dreaded hard reboot of the fictional universe. Each of these would, of course, come with its own production and publicity challenges.
Wright has said that his show would continue the existing canon, introducing a new team of characters while also making space for fan favorites to return. Over the past year he has revealed that his pilot script already includes Amanda Tapping’s Samantha Carter, Michael Shanks’ Daniel Jackson, and Ben Browder’s Cameron Mitchell. It would also be set in a world where the existence of the Stargate has been revealed to the public.
A new production would also stand to raise Stargate’s profile among Amazon’s growing global audience. A reported 175 million Prime customers have watched streaming video on the service at some point.
With the right strategy, Stargate’s fictional universe could be expanded in multiple directions. A committed Amazon and MGM could craft its own bona fide cinematic universe, with numerous new stories and characters eventually joining the ranks of SG-1, the Atlantis expedition, and the crew of Destiny.
Amazon’s declared intentions to buy MGM faced scrutiny by regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission — whose new chair Lina Khan has been an outspoken opponent of Amazon’s business practices and its integration of multiple business sectors. But the FTC’s commissioners reportedly have been split 2–2 in a decision over whether to file a lawsuit to try and block the deal.
Meanwhile this week antitrust regulators in the EU announced that they have finished their own review of the Amazon-MGM merger and given it unrestricted approval. The EU Commission stated Tuesday that the merger “would not significantly reduce competition in the markets,” since MGM’s content is not considered “must-have.” Amazon’s Prime Video service also continues to face plenty of stiff competition in the SVOD market.
By contrast, the FTC does not have to issue any sort of public finding as to its final actions — and so far it hasn’t. Today’s news comes from Amazon and MGM not because the FTC formally OK’ed the deal, but because a statutory deadline has passed. The FTC is required to act within a set timeframe after a company provides all requested documentation needed for it to make a proper evaluation. In face of a likely tie vote at the FTC, rather than call for a formal vote on the matter Khan allowed for the deadline to pass.
Today’s announcement from Amazon and MGM did not include any reference to the antitrust deliberations.
While the FTC is not publicly commenting on the deal’s closure today, a representative told the Wall Street Journal that the agency does not approve transactions and that it reserves the right to make legal challenges to any deals that they find violate U.S. antitrust law. That means Amazon and MGM aren’t completely out of the woods yet. Khan’s FTC has previously issued warnings to companies that they proceed with mergers at their own risk.
But Politico reports that sources familiar with the situation tell them that the Commission will not challenge the deal — a setback for Khan’s antitrust agenda.
Meanwhile Amazon and MGM are moving ahead with normal business operations — in Hopkins’ words, shifting “from planning to working together.” That’s a very good signal for Stargate‘s return to Prime Video streaming, as well as the potential of a new production announcement in the not-too-distant future.
This is the second largest acquisition deal from Amazon, behind its purchase of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion back in 2017. But the MGM buyout is way, way down the list of major media mergers over the past decade, dwarfed by the likes of AT&T and Time Warner ($85 billion) and Disney and Fox ($71.3 billion).
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View Comments
I honestly hope they never make more Stargate. It's been too painful watching all my old favourite shows getting milked for content. Stargate is the last one left untouched, please leave it alone.
I would agree with this if brad wasn't at the helm. But i have great hope he will lead us to a great new series.
If another series does come out I'd like to see it be like SG-1 and Atlantis comedy wise. All though I wouldn't like to see the same seriousness that Universe had (Even though Universe was good in my opinion). A little mix would be nice.
just watch the reruns while we enjoy new stargate content you dont have to watch it
I'm a bit torn on this... *A lot* has changed in the last 10 years... Everybody reading this knows how the entertainment history has gone off the ledge with political correctness, not to say there aren't shows that leave real-life politics and agendas out of their writing, but they are becoming more and more rare.
My problem with a new Brad Wright stargate series is the fact that former writers/producers from the SG-1/Atlantis/SG-U universe have become very politically active since 2011 when SG-U was cancelled... People like Joseph Mallozzi come to mind... Brad Wright himself to a lesser degree, as well...
It's not that I care about their politics, what I care about is the beloved universe I grew up with becoming tainted with topical political commentary that will age like milk.. Anyone remember episodes 2001 and 2010? The Aschen? Pretty sure those would have never been written today, because people would accuse them of anti-vaxx conspiracy, etc...
I guess my point is, if we're going to get a new stargate show that is obsessed with global warming, vaccine mandates, government obedience, cringey "alt-right" stuff... I'm just not interested.
don't forget -- you better stand with ukraine too!
Ukraine is not the aggressor who committing War-Crimes at this time. Whats wrong with you ?
sometimes "white collar" MENTAL actions lead to "blue collar" ACTIONS.
Has there ever been a war, without a war of WORDS?
Look at Corruption Perceptions Index. See where both countries score...along with USA and many others.
One lie leads to another....
The over-simplified MSM narrative can fool many. Just like brainwashed Jaffa! Watch UKRAINE ON FIRE for starters. Youtube WION has some interesting videos.
Absolutely LOVE the Stargate Series, but if it comes out "stinking" of Woke ... I'll Hard Pass and watch the Reruns forever!
What the hell is wrong you people that THIS imaginary culture war BS is the first thing you consider when you think about anything new at all?
Thats how Extremists are thinking. They live in their bubble and the World is just black and white.
Because "Go Woke, Go Broke" applies to everything. Meaning....lower profits, and eventual cancelation.
they are just expressing their opinions on what they would not like to see everyone has their right to give their opinion
I agree 100%. The problem also isn't whether or not political trends are included or even directly referred to from time to time, but how they are presented. If it is in your face and becomes the topic of the episode, or worse the entire show, then no thank you. Star Trek is a great example of this very thing happening. Even though Star Trek was always progressive in its political message, it was never as in your face as it is with the new Discovery series. As such, Discovery has continued to drop in the ratings since it started. Stargate Universe was also an example of the new woke agenda beginning to have an affect on TV shows. After season 1 it was almost unwatchable for me, and I consider the SG-1 and Atlantis two of of the best shows I have seen in my lifetime. Here's is hoping it will be great, because there is a lot of potential for it to be great.
I don't associate too much "woke" messaging with SGU 1 or 2. But then I mostly watched it while living overseas so maybe it wasn't "strong" enough to bother me. Or maybe I didn't understand the full context. Also "woke" messaging is much more pervasive now.
Have no interest in new Star Trek, so I've never seen it.
I can't stand the new Trek either... plus they always try to milk us for more money, after we already have spent hundreds for cable channels and more and they find ways to make new channels to make us subscribe to those too... greed comes into this... at some point they will make people just say screw it, wait until it is on another platform, and or binge it... if I have to get a new platform for XX$$$ a month for each show it will cost another hundred$$ a month... enough is enough,, for as much as I am dying to see the new shows, I feel like they are getting way to greedy... if they can just stay with an existing platform, they might earn some goodwill and base again. If people have the money to burn and don't care than I guess I am alone in this having to by more services is getting very expensive.
I was going to comment about the inevitable current-year identity politics, SJW wokeness, and far-left agenda with which any new SG project would be diseased, but at least one of the commenters so far has beaten me to it.
I will therefore confine myself to the observation that there is no possible way that this will put story above message, and that I will not watch. I suggest that Amazon feast on the corpse of the franchise through the miracle of reruns and not waste money on content no one will want.
I would happily watch any new stargate content as would lots others as this is a fictional universe current politics mean nothing at all. There is nothing they can put in it that would make me dislike or like current governments more than their actions do as long as the story is enjoyable.
So you don't mind the woke approach, where politics comes before content, good story writing and character building comes second to filling the right woke checkboxes.
Just watch the later years of Doctor Who and Star Trek: Discovery if you are in doubt how it can ruin a franchise.
You're all just guessing that it's going to be too woke because it'll run in 2023 or later. Plenty of shows today ignore political correctness; you just don't hear about them, because no one's screaming about it on Reddit. Stargate has a long history of not being topical at all, and I see no reason that would change with a fourth series. Now, if they hired an entirely new creative team, I might worry, but I would probably be more worried that it would just be bad in general.
AGREE 100% and it will be a "One Strike Ballgame" ... If I smell any "woke" Crap on day one .... there will Never be a day two!
I agree with Zenogias and RamblerReb. If Amazon wants to produce a brand new Stargate show or even just new episodes of the older shows, they need to do it without the political correctness garbage.
After seeing Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who and so many other science-fiction franchises now prioritizing a specific agenda/message instead of just telling good stories with competent actors and well-written likeable characters, I have doubts that Stargate would be immune from all of that.
There are still some shows like The Expanse and The Orville which are done correctly, but more and more it seems like morals, ethics and values are being thrown out the window in favor of just being able to say things like "See, we've got the MOST DIVERSE cast in history" and "You can't do or say that, you'll hurt someone's feelings."
I couldn't agree more. Sometimes you just need a break from all that palaver!!
Someone needs to actually have watched Star Trek, in any of it's shows since it's inception in the 1960s. Star Trek has been political at it's core since the very beginning. Roddenberry designed the show in such a way to tell stories about current issues, through the lens of a sci-fi setting. He tried to tell such stories in his previous show "The Lieutenant", but was censored for it. With Star Trek, he had much greater success.
People are more easily offended these days, and have become so entrenched in their own beliefs, that if a show has a different viewpoint than you do, it gets trashed as "woke", "politically correct" etc.
Yeah, there was an episode in the original series where one character's face was black&white, and his enemy's was white&black. They were the last two survivors of a war, and they never stopped trying to kill each other. The franchise hasn't become more political, it's just progressed at a faster rate than the real world. Now, I will say it can be strange at times. One character on Discovery had to tell another that their pronouns were they/them, and they made a big deal of it. Centuries from now, that won't be a big deal in the least, or "brave". The person hearing that would just be, like, "oh, okay. Got it. Thanks for letting me know. Now let's get back to work."
Disagree 100% Mike. I have watched all of the classic Trek series from TOS to Enterprise. I have also watched 3 seasons of the garbage known as Discovery and also the entire 1st season that has ruined Captain Picard's legacy and Patrick Stewart's reputation.
Yes, classic Trek had elements of politics and references to what was going on in the real world at that particular time in history, but there was a difference. In those episodes, both sides of a story were always presented and the writing was done in a way to ultimately let the viewer decide what was right or wrong (or which side they personally agreed with).
In modern Star Trek shows like Discovery and Picard, there is a clear tonal shift from their predecessors. There's a lot of profanity, pessimism, blood and gore, dystopian outlooks and lecturing. Characters will go out of their way to tell you how you should act and think. Morals and ethics are no longer apparent, like when someone who starts a war with the Klingons and constantly disobeys orders from superiors ends up being praised as the most heroic person ever and also gets promoted to Captain for no reason. You also have writers that ignore their own canon, where in one episode a character will say "We can't jump while cloaked", and then in the very next episode, they show the ship jumping while cloaked anyway, with no explanation whatsoever. No logic, no common sense, no talent. Actors, writers and producers are now being hired specifically because of their political views, not because they're actually competent or because they have the required qualifications for the job.
If that wasn't bad enough, you have ****** like Kurtzman go on camera and say things like how they're now using Star Trek as a political platform, and how Star Trek was always female-centric. Twenty executive producers and they can't write good stories with likeable characters. Compare that to something like TNG or DS9, where there were only 2 EPs and every episode (even the bad and boring ones) actually had heart and soul put into it.
There's a reason why actual Star Trek fans now prefer Seth Macfarlane's The Orville instead of current CBS Trek shows.
As opposed to the numerous examples of "classic Trek" where they can't beam through shields, 5 minutes later they beam through shields anyways...?
I love The Orville, but it isn't Star Trek. And never will be. It's The Orville. So-called "fans" of Star Trek need to stop comparing the two as somehow being one and the same.
I'm not saying DSC or PIC are without fault (quite the contrary). But don't you dare claim that the "classic Trek" shows were without faults either. I've been a fan since I was 5 years old (I'm 38 now), and while I have my issues with both DSC and PIC, by-and-large they're still quite enjoyable. Season 2 of Picard has been a total 180 from what it's first season was (which I agree, wasn't great).
But then (as a fan), I remember: Every single Trek series, with the possible exception of TOS (which only lasted 3 seasons, and would've been cancelled in the 2nd season were it not for fans)... Every previous show had very rough first, second or even third seasons. It generally took them a couple of years to find their footing, both in terms of acting and storytelling.
Well said, Scott:
“In modern Star Trek shows like Discovery and Picard, there is a clear tonal shift from their predecessors. There’s a lot of profanity, pessimism, blood and gore, dystopian outlooks and lecturing.“
I’ve also seen the tonal shift in the more recent Star Trek series. I can hope the heart and soul of SG1 & Atlantis are not morphed.
Stargate, like Star Trek has always been political and fans either agreed with the POV expressed or quietly disagreed and enjoyed the stories, maybe going on to debate the issues raised politely at conventions.
Now, sadly those on the right are acting like whining babies at how their poor feelings are hurt. I grew up hearing how I, a liberal, was a too sensitive "snowflake", but I am so very tough compared to many complaining about imaginary wokeness BS.
Wait and see, AMAZON will "Woke-crap" the tar out of the Franchise.
They're like Spoiled children, they will Not be able to resist!
I can't wait for ne SG series!
Stargate Atlantis 2030. The Wraith find earth after WEF had its way. They feed on humans and absorb so much WEF indolence and stupidity that they go extinct too. The end.
Update: people going berserk on Twitter and Reddit because Joe posted a picture of the front page of Brad's Stargate pilot and captioned it "a little light reading for the weekend."
Given the current state of what streaming studios have done to genre franchises, I'm not optimistic about any new Stargate.
According to SCI-Trek (whom has sources within MGM), the plan from Amazon is to let MGM run independently, meaning they will not interfere in the content creation.
We can expect some official statements soon, since they are about to have a meeting, where the plan the near future.
Gosh, I hope that rumour is right!
How about a true A-List video game? No mention of that. They could license it to Bethesda or Obsidian.