SGU Continuation/Stargate DTV's a No-Go

[JME2]

From Gateworld

Don’t expect to see Stargate Universe — or any other part of the franchise — come blazing back on television or DVD. At least not in the near future.

Stargate writer, executive producer and mastermind Brad Wright took the stage earlier today at Creation Entertainment’s Official Stargate Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia and proceeded to update and clear the air on the fate of the latest series, Stargate Universe.

“We just recently found out that the SGU movie is not going to happen,” Wright said during his stage panel today. “It took too long. We just couldn’t get it together in time, and the window has closed. It’s actually sad for me, because after 17 years, I’m cleaning out my desk tomorrow morning.”

The capacity crowd at the Metrotown Hilton in Burnaby listened in silence, with some attendees visibly in tears, as Wright waxed reminiscently on the almost two decades worth of the franchise he’s had a hand in creating.

“It was a great ride and I felt really good about [SGU] and about Stargate in general,” Wright continued. “When something’s been a part of your life for 15 years, it kind of takes you over.”

“There are moments I’m so proud of and remember with fondness. I really enjoyed the last day of shooting ‘Unending’ [SG-1's series finale]. And I enjoyed every day on the set of Stargate Continuum. I’m very paternal and I love watching people become great at their jobs. I’m so proud of the pier scene [in Atlantis' Season Five episode 'The Shrine']. Joe [Flanigan] was so powerful in those scenes.”

Wright also confirmed that the proposed Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis movies have been permanently shelved, along with another movie idea he had been trying to get a greenlight on, which would have combined and involved cast members of all three series. Scripts for the first two of those projects, tentatively titled Stargate: Revolution and Stargate: Extinction (respectively), were completed well over a year ago.

What does this news mean for the future of the Stargate brand and the franchise? In the short-term, there are no plans to begin production on anything Stargate-related. But it’s a situation Wright doesn’t see as final — even if he’s not a part of it.

“It’s a franchise. Stargate is not over,” he said. “Somebody smart from MGM is going to figure it out, and something will happen.” Wright said, adding that he’s embracing the chance and prospect of writing material that isn’t Stargate related, and will be actively working on other pilots.

So, that's it. I knew it was a long shot, but that's it. The final nail in the coffin for the current iteration of the franchise.

Regardless, I hate to see Stargate go out with a whimper, but at least it had a 17-year run. And who knows, maybe we'll see a reboot down the road...

[Crazedwraith]

Yeah, I suppose I should be a sad but I'm not. Stargate's been waning for me for a long time.

Hoping for something new and original rather a reboot, just on general principle.

[Revy]

Well ... damn. I wasn't much of a fan of Universe but I knew that if it didn't make it then neither would anything else Gate related. So this really kinda sucks. Ehhh.

[Kingmaker]

I wasn't terribly fond of Stargate Universe, but it was alright. It sucks to see the Stargate Franchise dying out, but it doesn't really come as a surprise. The writing had gotten incredibly stale, and I sort of wish they had mercy-killed the franchise a few years ago by sending it out with a bang.
I wonder if there will be any attempt to perpetuate the franchise in other, cheaper media.

[PREDATOR490]

Not a surprise and not unwelcome.

Sorry, but Stargate has rapidly been diminishing in quality since SG-1 S8 forwards.
S8+ is where things jumped the shark and simply continued for the sake of continuing. Granted, some of it is still good but with so much history and upscaling of Earth they really wrote themselves into a dead end.

The only thing I might actually miss is the supposed attempt to smash all three shows cast together for a movie. I highly expect that would turn into a massive clusterfuck of cameos that achieve nothing but be there for the sake of being there.


Reboot - While it is all the rage nowadays, Stargate is still fresh and new. A reboot only makes sense once the series drops enough that it becomes viable. I dont see that happening any time soon. Much more likely for random movies to be made on the fly with lame cameos from actors available to show up.
I.E Babylon 5

I can see the series continuing on in a similar manner to the Star Trek / Wars EUs but I dont see them going to the trouble of making up a similar canon policy.

[JME2]

Reboot - While it is all the rage nowadays, Stargate is still fresh and new. A reboot only makes sense once the series drops enough that it becomes viable. I dont see that happening any time soon. Much more likely for random movies to be made on the fly with lame cameos from actors available to show up.

A reboot might be the only way to go. The premise can only be recycled so many times and I can't think of what a fourth series would cover.

For example, they can't do a time-jump because one of the franchise's strengths has been modern-day people exploring this fantastic world.

My biggest regret is that now we'll never get disclosure -- which frankly should have happened after Anubis' attack, anyway.

[JME2]

And looking over GW's posts, the SGA fans are predictably crucifying Brad Wright for killing any hope of the Atlantis film...

[Alyeska]

I was hoping for a little closure. But the ways that SG1 and SGA ended didn't really need it. Hell, SG1 got closure. I guess I wanted to see the Jack O'Neill adventure. The Wraith? I fail to see them as a significant threat to Earth anymore. Only SGU goes without significant closure, and that depends entirely on how the finale closes out.

[JME2]

Only SGU goes without significant closure, and that depends entirely on how the finale closes out.

Here's Mallozzi's hints on the de facto series finale:

Most would probably consider ['Gauntlet'] a cliffhanger while I would consider it a touching, bittersweet end to the series (if it comes to it)."

So, we'll see.

[Alyeska]

There are cliff hangers, and there are nods to a series. TNG did not end on a cliff hanger, but ended on a note that allowed TNG to simply continue existing outside of the series we had watched.

If they can write a story that provides some form of closure even without bringing the crew home, more power to them.

[Batman]

Frankly, I think the only part of the SG franchise that needs closure is SGA. SG-1 had closure, they just decided to milk the franchise for all it was worth regardless with the new team, and the franchise would have been better off if SGU never happened to begin with, but SGA left us with the Wraith still at large and possibly in possession of the location of the Milky Way.

[PREDATOR490]

Reboot - While it is all the rage nowadays, Stargate is still fresh and new. A reboot only makes sense once the series drops enough that it becomes viable. I dont see that happening any time soon. Much more likely for random movies to be made on the fly with lame cameos from actors available to show up.

A reboot might be the only way to go. The premise can only be recycled so many times and I can't think of what a fourth series would cover.

For example, they can't do a time-jump because one of the franchise's strengths has been modern-day people exploring this fantastic world.

My biggest regret is that now we'll never get disclosure -- which frankly should have happened after Anubis' attack, anyway.

The series can barely manage pulling off a third series due to the mess going on. A fourth series would simply compound on the issue.

Unless they decide to literally throw in the towel with these movies and trying to keep roads open for multiple series movies etc. they end up having to tip-toe around things which quickly gets annoying. I.E Bringing in Atlantis personnel but never mentioning if Atlantis is still on Earth or elsewhere

As for SGU itself - Search for 'God' onboard a piece of shit that has no value compared to the technology already acquired is a really poor premise.
The only way this show might have been interesting is if 'God' turned out to be a Reaper and the reason the Ascended Ancients employ non-intervention rules is because the dont want the Reapers to wake up, blah blah.

As it is, the show is costing tons of money to achieve nothing but waste space being a horrific pairing of Star Trek Voyager / nBSG.

[TimothyC]

I wonder if they could take the scripts, and do novels out of them. While the market would be smaller, the core work is already done.

[JME2]

...but SGA left us with the Wraith still at large and possibly in possession of the location of the Milky Way.

If Extinction had been made, I imagine this argument would have been brought up.

The SGC was committed to the fight against the Wraith because it was the only way to study Atlantis. With Atlantis now on Earth, there's no need to continue the Tau'ri-Wraith War.

The counter-argument -- which you point out and which Sheppard and the others would have supported- is that the Wraith are still out there and still searching for Earth. There's nothing to prevent another attempted culling and they need to finish the job.

[Lonestar]

but SGA left us with the Wraith still at large and possibly in possession of the location of the Milky Way.

Yup, which is why I typically discount at least one 304 whenever we have those idiot "Hurr hurr the LA should be destroyed by now" arguments in the SGU threads. You gotta figure one is on regular deployment in the Pegasus galaxy to track Wraith activity(or stripping the city-ship from The tower of parts for Atlantis)

[ThomasP]

While I'm not surprised, and I'm probably in the minority, I was getting excited for Universe and hoping to see where the storyline would go. The last string of episodes showed (what I thought to be) amazing promise. I'll be sad to see it go.

[CaptJodan]

I have enjoyed SGU for the most part, and will be sad to see it go and sad to see it have no decent end. While nowhere near perfect, SGU was a blast of fresh air for the bland and dull series that Atlantis turned out to be. No super tech of doom to save the crew, actual hardship from a broken down piece of shit ship instead of a mostly fully functioning city with all the Ancient knowledge at your fingertips and an incompetent, laughable enemy. Actual sparks between civilian and military personnel, rather than the promised sparks we never got in Atlantis. The list goes on.

Beyond knowing where Atlantis is now, I couldn't care less about an SGA movie. Another SG-1 movie might be nice, though it would depend a lot on what they did with it. More Jack, less Cameron. Ultimately the old stuff feels finished enough that you could move on. SGU won't feel that way in the end, I suspect.

Oh well. On to Blood and Chrome.

[Sarevok]

Stargate had a good run. Few TV shows, especially scifi, could have seen such longevity.

The only thing Stargate franchise is missing is a good videogame adaptation. Now that the shows are off air I hope it spurs the development of a memorable RPG game like KoToR.

[Zor]

In all likelyhood someone 20 years down the road will try to revive the series.

Zor

[Meest]

Hopefully the top guys bow out and let some fresh ideas or new direction come forward, they seem out of ideas and inspiration.

[Adrian McNair]

As I've said in my previous posts on the subject this was not unforeseen. The low ratings stemming from fanboy antipathy and MGM's financial situation combined to ensure Universe's cancellation. It could have easily been avoided of course if TV sci-fi had the same elevated profile that reality shows do and didn't exist in some sort of ghetto. But who am I to argue with those who'd rather view televisual gems such as Jersey Shore and Cheaters?

And looking over GW's posts, the SGA fans are predictably crucifying Brad Wright for killing any hope of the Atlantis film...

They really are stupid beyond belief, aren't they? Ah the irony. If they had bothered to show more enthusiasm than they did everybody might have won. If Universe had gotten a third season there would have been a greater chance of SG-1/SGA films. No matter where it manifests, be it in fantasy or sci-fi, fanboy conservatism is a fucking cancer. The ultimate moral of the story seems to be that if you want to make a Stargate spin-off, focus on more of the same instead of daring to try something new. We wouldn't want to scare the purists off with something bold, would we?

[Crazedwraith]

Ha ha! Right, instead they should have just forced themselves to watch something they didn't like in the vain hope it would lead to something they wanted further down the line?

Basically you seem to be complaining that SGA fans weren't fanboyish enough.

[Adrian McNair]

Ha ha!

Hey, look at that! You're amused. It's always good to start an ultimately pointless argument with some levity. Oh wait, that was sarcasm wasn't it? Darn. Time to address your misinterpretations of my post.

Right, instead they should have just forced themselves to watch something they didn't like in the vain hope it would lead to something they wanted further down the line?

I'm not saying they should have "forced themselves," you twit. I'm saying that they came into the series with the wrong mindset. They had negative opinions of the series from the moment the announcements were made. They couldn't look past the small things (like the fact that people were *gasp* having sex) and instead focus on the series as it unfolded. They wanted an Atlantis retread but they didn't get one so they thought that boycotting it would be a good idea. Hence the dip in ratings. It's funny that these same people couldn't do a damn thing to save their precious Atlantis, either.

Am I to assume, based on your defensive reply, that you're a Stargate purist as well? You probably are, aren't you?

Basically you seem to be complaining that SGA fans weren't fanboyish enough.

No, the problem was that they were too fanboyish. I know what I said. Don't put words into my mouth. They didn't even try to view the series on its own merits. They repeatedly made unfair comparisons to the past when they should have been looking forward and been more accommodating. It's not my fault that they had the attention spans of lemmings when it came to the series. My point is that for all of their whining and false outrage they've ultimately shot themselves in the collective foot. They won't get what they want for years, if ever.

[Crazedwraith]

I'm not going to do the whole 'quote each line individually' thing, sorry.

I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, just stating my understanding of what you're saying. You seem to be blaming SGU's failure on SGA fans not watching. You say if they were real fans, they would have 'given SGU a Chance' and watched it solely because it was a part of the Stargate Franchise, and because by propping up the franchise they might end up with a film they wanted.

I don't what you definition of a fanboy is but 'watching something, regardless of quality or concept, simply because its part of a franchise' is right up there as far as I'm concerned.

I never watched SGU myself. And yes that was partially because they kicked SGA to the curb to get it running. But mainly because I didn't like the concept of the show, or indeed the proposed tone of the show. In fact, I'm completely tired of the current trend of grimdark, 'character-based' decompressed arc shows. I liked wacky episodic fun. SGU was not going to be that, so I didn't watch it.

Why should stargate fans be under any obligation to attempt watch something they don't like, simply because its Stargate?

[Adrian McNair]

I'm not going to do the whole 'quote each line individually' thing, sorry.

And I'm not going to blindly skim through your post and utterly misrepresent your position. I'm better than that.

I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, just stating my understanding of what you're saying. You seem to be blaming SGU's failure on SGA fans not watching. You say if they were real fans, they would have 'given SGU a Chance' and watched it solely because it was a part of the Stargate Franchise, and because by propping up the franchise they might end up with a film they wanted.

Then your understanding is completely lacking. I'm blaming both their attitude and the fact that they didn't bother to give it a chance in the first place as a series in its own right (as in separate from the franchise. Not to be compared with previous shows. SEPARATE). I never said that they should watch it just because it's a Stargate series. That's an idiotic argument and one I never subscribed to. I did say that they could have tried to stow their petty prejudices at the door and enjoy it as a separate entity. I also said that their attitude is ultimately self-defeating and they have accomplished what they hoped to avoid. They killed Stargate.

I don't what you definition of a fanboy is but 'watching something, regardless of quality or concept, simply because its part of a franchise' is right up there as far as I'm concerned.

See above. Stop twisting my words.

I never watched SGU myself. And yes that was partially because they kicked SGA to the curb to get it running. But mainly because I didn't like the concept of the show, or indeed the proposed tone of the show. In fact, I'm completely tired of the current trend of grimdark, 'character-based' decompressed arc shows. I liked wacky episodic fun. SGU was not going to be that, so I didn't watch it.

Oh fuck, you are one of those people. And you're lazy enough to use that idiotic "grimdark" term (where did that originate from? I'd like to have some words with the wanker who coined it) when the word "drama" would have sufficed. And why would I give a fuck about whether or not you watched the series? You're from the UK. You were in no position to ever affect the outcome. My ire is reserved for the American fanboys only.

Why should stargate fans be under any obligation to attempt watch something they don't like, simply because its Stargate?

It's a shame that you have the reading comprehension of a five year old instead of an adult. I. Never. Stated. That.