The Battlestar Galactica Movie Is Actually Happening
The Battlestar Galactica movie is on its way. For real.
This article is more than 2 years old
Battlestar Galactica has proven to be one of the most resilient properties in all of science-fiction. It has existed in five different television show formats over the course of 42 years, but with the exception of a re-edited group of episodes, the franchise has never produced an original feature film for the big screen. Well, it looks like that is finally about to change.
The Hollywood Reporter has the exclusive news about the new Battlestar Galactica movie and it is coming our way. Simon Kinberg, who was one of the main architects of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise, has been tapped to write and produce the feature film adaptation of the beloved cult sci-fi show. At this point, no director has been announced for the project.
This new version of Battlestar Galactica will be just that: a brand new reboot that will likely have no direct connection to the interpretations we have seen in the past. Yes, that means we won’t be seeing any characters return from the critically-acclaimed Syfy series making a comeback. Does that mean some actors from that series could not show up in winking cameos? Certainly not! It would be a great way to give fans of that show a little treat while also feeling like a sly bit of torch-passing. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for a brief appearance by Edward James Olmos or James Callis.
It will be interesting to see what kind of tone and take this new version of Battlestar Galactica will decide to go with. Though the original series has retroactively campy elements, it took its storytelling and characters very seriously. And the 2004 reboot went even further with that directive, crafting one of the most somber and thought-provoking sci-fi shows in the history of television. There is good reason to assume that this new version will take a similar route.
What makes this news a little confusing is that there is still a reported television reboot of Battlestar Galactica on the way from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail. Does this news mean that project is being put on the back-burner? Or is the plan to develop both at the same time so that there are two separate iterations of the property out there for consumers? Will they actually tie into each other? Or could news of this feature film reboot mean that the Sam Esmail show is going the way of the dodo? There is no clear indication at this time what the relationship (if any) will be between these two projects.
A Battlestar Galactica movie has been in the works for so long now that it felt like one of those projects that was never going to happen. With the announcement of Simon Kinberg as the writer and producer, this is the closest we’ve gotten to actually seeing the property make its way to the big screen as a blockbuster sci-fi experience. Let’s hope things keep rolling along nicely and we get yet another brilliant iteration of the property.
