There are two new pieces of news that came out of Stargate co-creator Brad Wright’s
livestream with Richard Dean Anderson and The Companion host Lawrence Kao on July 27th.
The two SG-1 veterans talked for an hour about their friendship and their time on the show,
which premiered back in 1997.
But when it came time to address his unproduced pilot script for a fourth live-action, in-canon
TV series, Wright sounded a bit pessimistic about whether Amazon and MGM are going to
green-light the show.
But in the meantime, he revealed an awesome new piece of intel about a brand new type
of Stargate that he’s put in his script.
And it’s actually something several of you predicted.
Brad Wright is a writer, executive producer, and co-creator of Stargate SG-1, Stargate
Atlantis, and Stargate Universe.
If there's anyone who should continue this universe, it’s him.
And if there’s one thing fans can count on in a new series created by Brad and set
in this universe, it’s that each show is bound to have its own Stargate with a unique
look.
The gate is iconic, and it's a signature for the show — from the classic red and gray
of the Milky Way gates, to the digital blue vibe of Atlantis, to the steampunk aesthetic
and white chevrons of SGU.
So it’s no surprise that Wright’s plans for a fourth show also include a new model
of Stargate ... even though the show is set on Earth.
He revealed the idea behind the new gate during The Companion’s “Stargate Legacy” 25th
anniversary livestream.
Yep, believe it or not Stargate SG-1 just celebrated 25 years since the premiere of
the pilot episode, “Children of the Gods.”
Here’s what he said: BRAD WRIGHT: “In my pilot script that I
wrote (that will probably never see the light of day) a couple years ago, when MGM asked
me to write a pilot script for a new show, I had an entirely new, human-built Stargate.
And it just ... spun up like crazy and then [makes rapid chevron locking sounds] and opened.
Because I thought it’s about time that we sped up the process, after 25 years!
Don’t you think?
So, maybe they'll do that anyway.
It’s cool.
It’s really cool, at least in the script.”
NARRATOR: Each of Stargate’s three live-action series has featured a different style of gate,
built by the Ancients at different points in their history.
We actually did an entire video comparing and contrasting the Milky Way, Pegasus, and
Destiny gates and how they work.
(Check out the link to that at the end of the video.)
In that video we asked what you’d like to see for a fourth type of gate in a new show.
And let’s hand out some props here: some of you totally called this!
Several people in the comments said that it’s about time Earth try to build its own Stargate.
And it makes sense.
With a new series set in the present day it's been decades since the founding of the Stargate
program.
And with everything the S.G.C.
has learned about the gate and its operations, it makes sense that the next evolution of
the Stargate would be built by humans based on Ancient principles.
Even if Stargate Command didn’t have access to naquadah, trinium, and other off-world
resources, we know that it’s possible to build a functioning gate entirely from materials
found on Earth.
The formerly ascended being Orlin did just that in the episode “Ascension,” in SG-1’s
fifth season.
This was a small gate that was only good for a single use ... but it worked.
(Sam’s just going to need a new toaster.)
A new style of gate engineered by Earth would also open up new avenues for story ideas.
Maybe the human-built gate doesn’t work quite the same.
Maybe someone built a second one in secret or sold the plans to the Libyans.
DOC BROWN: "The Libyans!"
NARRATOR: Or maybe somebody leaked the plans on the Internet and now we’re all completely
screwed because the Stargate subreddit built their own gate and everyone on TikTok is making
cat videos on Chulak.
But I digress.
This fast-dialing, human-built Stargate is a new detail that we didn’t know about where
Earth would be in its development when Wright’s fourth series begins.
More than a decade has passed since we last visited this universe.
Wright has previously said that by now the Stargate would be public knowledge.
He’s also written several SG-1 favorites into the pilot, including (but not limited
to) Amanda Tapping’s General Samantha Carter, Michael Shanks’ Dr. Daniel Jackson, and
Ben Browder’s Cameron Mitchell.
The second piece of news from the July 27th livestream is that right now Brad isn’t
sounding all that optimistic about the show ever getting made.
He completed his pilot script for the new series early in 2020, just in time for COVID
to shut down all film and television production and studio pitch meetings.
He did some rewrites and polishing in the interim, but eventually MGM put Stargate’s
development on hold and entered into negotiations with Amazon to sell the company.
That deal was announced in May of 2021, and after the usual regulatory hurdles closed
in March of 2022.
Since then, both companies have been completely silent on what they might choose to do with
Stargate.
The silence, in fact, is starting to get eerie.
Now in the summer of 2022, Wright sounds like he’s still waiting along with the rest of
us to find out what Amazon and MGM want to do with the franchise.
And as you heard in that clip, he expressed some pessimism that his new script “will
probably never see the light of day.”
On Twitter, though, he sounded optimistic that Amazon will do something with the Stargate
brand.
At least eventually.
He wrote: “Happy 25th anniversary to Stargate SG-1!
And thank you to everyone who’s been asking MGM and Amazon to bring Stargate back.
With amazing fans like all of you, I’m sure they will.”
We just hope that when that happens it’s a continuation of the existing universe that
Brad helped to create.
A new take on the Stargate formula would be interesting to see, for sure – but we want
to see more of the characters, species, ideas, and values that fans came to cherish over
17 seasons of amazing television.
Build on this foundation that still has millions of active fans around the world, expanding
the universe and adding new characters and new ideas to what's already here.
Honestly it’s a little strange that the studio hasn’t pulled the trigger on a new
Stargate production, in the age of legacy IP and the massive proliferation of streaming
services.
Never in the history of television have there been more outlets creating original content
to try and capture a piece of the market share.
And perhaps never in history have film and television studios spent so much time and
money rebooting and remaking and continuing beloved shows from years past.
Star Wars and Star Trek have multiple streaming shows in production simultaneously.
Battlestar Galactica is getting its second reboot.
J. Michael Straczynski is going back to the Babylon 5 well on The CW.
There are even continuations of Saved By the Bell and Punky Brewster!
And where is Stargate in all of this?
It’s still on the sidelines, sitting out the latest TV revolution, while fans the world
over are pleading with the studio to bring it back.
It’s time.
It's time.
Once Amazon gets its act together and decides how future Stargate fits into its streaming
plans, we want to see Brad’s pitch get turned into the series it deserves.
Because we really want to see how that cool new Stargate dials!
Watch the full, hour-long conversation with Brad Wright and Richard Dean Anderson now
over at The Companion.
But before you go you can help support GateWorld by leaving a Like!
Let us know in the comments below what you think of a human-built Stargate, and if Amazon
should continue the existing canon or reboot and start from scratch.
Next up: Here’s our video examining not just three different types of Stargates, but
all six in-canon gate models that have been shown on screen so far.
Can you name all six?
Check out the video, look for the latest Stargate news on our Web site at GateWorld.net, and
we’ll see you in the next one.