Bad news for fans hoping to seeStargatereturn to the big screen. A few years ago, around the same time that filmmakerRoland Emmerichand producerDean Devlinannounced their plans to makeIndependence Day 2, the duo also revealed that they were working onaStargatereboot. The idea was to finally realize their plans for theStargatefranchise that they developed back when the 1994 original was made, and as recently as this summer Devlin said that to enact their trilogy plans, they were going to bestarting over with a reboot of the first movie.James A. WoodsandNicolas Wright, the writing team behindIndependence Day: Resurgence, were put on the project and all seemed to be moving ahead, but now, unfortunately, theStargatereboot is dead.
Speaking withEmpire, Devlin revealed that the plans for the newStargatehave been halted:
“It looked good for a couple of months, but now it’s not looking so good. There are just a lot of things that have to fire at the same time, and there was a moment where I thought itwasall firing at the same time, and then it all kind of fell apart.”
Devlin noted that studio concern over numbers and product instead of quality is one of the reasons theStargatereboot is no longer happening, as well as a fear of screwing up the property:
“Listen, I think if we didStargateright, the fans would like it and we could do something really good. But if we screw it up, they’ll reject it. As they should. But I kind of don’t want to do it if I think that we’ll screw it up, and that’s one of the things that’s holding us back.”
And while Devlin doesn’t say it, there’s likely another reason aStargatereboot isn’t happening:Independence Day: Resurgence. The 20th Century Fox sequel was one of 2016’s most anticipated blockbusters, with expectations soaring high after millennial nostalgia boostedJurassic Worldto a $1 billion box office. ButResurgencesuffered absolutely scathing reviews and only managed to conjure $389.6 million at the box office against a reported $165 million budget. Once you factor in marketing costs plus expectations thatResurgencewould be a major international player, the film’s disappointment becomes clear.
And thus, whileStargateisn’t set up at a studio, the prospect of greenlighting a continuation of a 90s sci-fi film from Devlin and Emmerich in the wake ofResurgencebecomes more risky, and thus whatever studio would sign on to make theStargatereboot would no doubt want considerably more creative oversight to protect their investment.
So, alas, theStargatereboot doesn’t seem meant to be. But who knows, the project could resurface in a few years’ time. Stranger things have happened.
