STARGATE was a successful movie back in 1994 that should have launched a big screen franchise. Instead, STARGATE became a series of popular television series that lasted ten years alongside two other live action series, an animated series, and two TV movies. But the series has never been quite big enough to cross from that cult/SyFy level of fandom and back into the big leagues of science fiction movies.
Co-creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin have been talking about ways to make a new STARGATE movie for years and have just made headway to get a sequel to INDEPENDENCE DAY, titled ID FOREVER, scheduled to hit theaters July 3rd, 2015, after that, the filmmakers plan to not only work on a new STARGATE, but three new STARGATE films.
Here is what Emmerich told Digital Spy:
“We went to MGM, who has the rights, and proposed to them to do a sequel, but as a reboot… and reboot it as a movie and then do three parts. Pretty soon we’ll have to look for a writer and start.”
I know that hearing the movie will be split in three smacks of money-grubbing, but there isn’t an effective way to make a sequel to the first film since Kurt Russell and James Spader look, well, twenty years older. Emmerich sounded less than enthused with making a direct sequel to the shows or the first movie, so reboot is the only way. And, with a project this big, the only way you can keep budget down is to guarantee a profit. Spreading the costs over three movies triples the box office and makes it more appealing to investors.
With ID FOREVER set for 2015, I wouldn’t bank on seeing the new STARGATE trilogy begin production until 2016 for release a year later at the earliest. Assuming it happens at all.