Amazon’s One Path To Continuing Stargate

After a ten year break from theatrical releases, in December of 2015 Star Wars came thundering back to the big screen with J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens. The film honored the franchise’s roots and introduced new characters and storylines that organically included the original trio of characters: Han, Luke, and Leia. It went on to gross $2 billion globally and receive glowing reviews.

(Wait, isn’t this supposed to be a Stargate article? … Just stay with me here.)

Earlier that year, the Jurassic Park franchise rebooted in a similar fashion with Jurassic World – a part sequel, part remake (“re-quel,” if you will) that brought us back to Isla Nublar, this time with a fully functioning dinosaur theme park open to the general public. It grossed a whopping $1.67 billion at the global box office.

And while Star Trek initially struggled with its alternate “Kelvin Timeline” theatrical films, the franchise has since found extensive success with no less than five television shows now streaming on Paramount+ in 2022 – most of which feature legacy characters, or otherwise contain deep ties to existing Star Trek lore.

Okay, so really – what does this all have to do with Stargate?

The answer is: a lot. And it points to the one viable path that MGM and its new owner, Amazon, have in front of them when it comes to returning Stargate to our screens.

THE POWER OF LEGACY

For the last decade legacy franchises have reigned supreme, and nostalgia is worth its weight in gold. 1980s and 90s kids who enjoyed the films and television shows of their era are now adult consumers with families. As everyone struggles to cope with our increasingly dystopian reality, we find immense comfort in returning to our favorite fictional worlds populated by our childhood heroes. Hollywood has learned that if you bring back a dormant franchise’s legacy characters and pick up the story where it left off – people will turn out in droves.

So it’s entirely reasonable to wonder why Stargate – one of the longest running and most successful sci-fi television franchises of all time – has yet to receive its own proper, in-canon continuation.

After May of 2011 – when Stargate Universe signed off with its series finale “Gauntlet” – it was only a matter of time until Stargate would return in some form. In 2014, MGM put a Stargate reboot trilogy into development with 1994 Stargate feature film director Roland Emmerich, but that project sputtered out a few years later. Since then, MGM has failed to green light or announce any new Stargate projects, with the exception of the 2018 web series Stargate: Origins.

Toward the end of the decade, MGM made it known it was interested in being acquired by a major studio or other buyer. Finally, in May of 2021, Amazon announced that it was acquiring MGM – and as of May 2022, the acquisition is functionally complete.

Amazon will want to get its money’s worth out of MGM’s content library, and will eventually put new Stargate content into production. But despite the variety of options available, I believe there is only one surefire way to reinvigorate this brand and ensure its long-term viability.

WHERE THE FANS ARE

If Amazon wants the Stargate franchise to return to its former glory, it must green-light an in-canon continuation of the television universe we know and love. Any new show has to honor Stargate’s established mythology while also serving as an effective introduction to new viewers who are just discovering the franchise.

One look at Stargate’s juggernaut fandom and Amazon should realize the importance of adhering to the existing canon loved by so many. Stargate’s fandom continues to thrive after a decade of (almost) no new narrative content. Stargate-specific conventions still happen across several different countries. There are numerous Stargate Facebook groups and Twitter pages with sizable followings, a big Stargate subreddit, and Stargate cosplayers to be found at fan conventions across the globe.

Brand new, fan-made Stargate content on YouTube will often get six figure viewership. And back in December of 2019, the #WeWantStargate Twitter campaign (coordinated by Stargate producer Joseph Mallozzi) trended #1 in Australia, Canada, France, and the United States, and #2 Worldwide.

Yet these legions of fans have not stuck around for so long simply because of the Stargate itself. They’re invested in these particular characters, their familial relationships, the world-building, and the singular, unified vision (across all three series) from Brad Wright and his team of writers.

While wiping the slate clean with a reboot may be enticing to new corporate owners, such a decision would result in disastrous long-term consequences for the franchise. A hard reboot would alienate Stargate fans loyal to the television canon (more or less the entire fandom), and it would diminish the relevance of Stargate’s existing library – permanently separating it from future content.

When Disney bought Star Wars, did it recast Han, Luke, and Leia, and remake A New Hope? No, that would be completely unthinkable and have resulted in an apocalyptic blow-back. Star Trek’s Kelvin universe film series should also be a cautionary tale for the limited payoff (and significant risk) of producing an alternate timeline or reboot iteration of a beloved franchise – something that attempts to be flashy and modernized in its approach but ultimately fails to satisfy hardcore fans and casual viewers alike.

Maybe Amazon doesn’t realize this, but to Stargate fans the legacy characters of SG-1 are held in the same regard as the original trio from Star Wars. O’Neill, Carter, Daniel Jackson, and Teal’c are Stargate fans’ Han, Luke, and Leia. All of the primary SG-1 actors are still alive (and most still work in the film industry), and they have all signaled a willingness to appear in a new Stargate project.

And it doesn’t stop with SG-1 characters. There are plenty of legacy characters from Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe who would be huge draws if they were to make an appearance in a new Stargate series.

So why try to recreate the magic of Stargate with a reboot when you can just continue the magic? An extensive, interconnected, creative universe with iconic characters, spin-off opportunities, and lucrative merchandising potential … all of this already exists. It’s just waiting for someone to tie up the loose ends and move the franchise forward in a clever and exciting way.

RETURN OF THE KING?

Speaking of continuing the magic, Brad Wright – the co-creator and showrunner of Stargate SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe – completed a pilot script back in 2020 for a brand new, fourth in-canon Stargate series. When asked by Syfy Wire about his series, Wright said:

My goal was to create something that was new that also honored the existing universe, that lived in the canon of SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe, and therefore included some of those characters. Bring in a new guard? Absolutely. But not at the expense of the pre-existing characters, who I think would still be very much on their game and still firing on all cylinders.

He added that legacy characters like General Samantha Carter would be present in his new series, if he gets to make it. “Of course there would be a General Carter, why wouldn’t there be? Who else would run the whole shebang other than her?”

It seems like Wright’s approach checks all of the important boxes for a successful franchise re-invigoration. It follows the model of The Force Awakens by returning to a franchise’s golden era to pass off the baton to a younger generation of heroes (while also including the old guard in a meaningful way). Wright even mentioned the possibility of including something akin to a “Stargate Academy” in the show, where beloved legacy characters train a new generation of S.G.C. personnel.

Now, I’m sure Amazon has considered doing a hard reboot of Stargate SG-1 – as SG-1 was the most successful and recognizable iteration of the Stargate franchise. But I would argue that by embracing Wright’s pitch, Amazon can have their SG-1 reboot while also giving the fans the in-canon continuation they deserve.

Wright’s new Stargate series could focus on a young, fresh-faced SG-1 team who are just settling into their new role – but who reports to legacy characters currently serving as military leadership (Carter, O’Neill, Sheppard, Telford, etc.). The new SG-1 can certainly develop their own identity and team dynamics, but their work will be an extension of the same Stargate Command that we know and love – following up on key alien races, storylines, and galactic dynamics that were planted in past Stargate series.

Still, there is a chance to travel into exciting new territory given how Brad Wright has announced that the Stargate program will be disclosed to the general public if his new show gets produced. Such a development would see the Stargate program operating on an entirely new level, and the examination of how humanity as a whole would handle such knowledge is ripe with excellent storytelling potential.

Stargate writer and producer Joseph Mallozzi is one of the few people to have read Wright’s script. He stated on Reddit that if this show is picked up the Destiny will make an appearance, and several unfinished storylines from SGU will be addressed (something that fans have been clamoring about for many years, given the uncertain fate of Destiny and her crew at the series’ end).

THE CANON MUST CONTINUE

All of these ideas are very exciting, but there is no guarantee that Amazon will pick up Brad Wright’s fourth Stargate series (… although if there is any shred of justice in the universe, they will).

However, regardless of who they enlist to helm a new Stargate series, the important thing is that Amazon honors the existing canon of Stargate and builds off the incredible shared universe that made the franchise what it is today. To toss aside 17 seasons of mythology with a fiercely loyal following (and a clear opportunity to continue the story in an accessible way) would be illogical and detrimental to the overall strength of the brand.

So, Amazon, if you’re listening: please don’t forget about the characters, planets, storylines, themes, and unique creative approach that made Stargate into the successful and widely adored franchise that it is today. The fans are longing for another trip through the event horizon – and only you can take us there.

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What do you think? Should Amazon continue the existing canon from the Stargate television universe … or reboot and start from scratch? Vote in the poll and sound off in the comments!