Original Stargate director Roland Emmerich says he won't have a lot to do with a reboot amid talk of one coming to theaters and television. The 64-year-old wrote and directed the 1994 sci-fi film, which was followed up by television show Stargate SG-1 that ran for 10 seasons before being canceled. Emmerich was not involved in the show nor spin-offs Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe.
Emmerich and co-director Dean Devlin were keen on a Stargate movie trilogy in the 90s but were left disappointed after MGM opted to take Stargate to television instead. In an interview late last year, Devlin revealed MGM did not want them working on the show as they hadn't done TV projects before. He confessed to being upset over the decision, revealing he avoided watching the series out of anger but made his peace with it after a number of years. And he's since become friends with one of SG-1's creators, Jonathan Glassner, with the two currently producing Syfy's The Outpost. Emmerich and Devlin went on to make Independence Day (1996) on the back of Stargate's success and their partnership also saw to Godzilla in 1998, The Patriot in 2005, as well as 2015’s Independence Day: Resurgence, a title that failed to live up to the original. Emmerich directed 2019 war film Midway, which is now available on home release.
The German director spoke to Screen Rant as part of a recent interview to promote Midway's home video release and, asked whether he would be involved in Stargate's reboot, Emmerich said his part will be minimal as he has other projects to work on that he considers more important. When asked if he was involved in any development of the reboot, Emmerich said:
No, not really anymore. Yes, I'm involved, but also not. Because I have so many other things to do. I have, like, two or three other projects I want to do and they're kind of more important than - I think somebody else has to do that. MGM is trying.
Rumors of a full reboot intensified after Stargate Origins was released as a web series on MGM's Stargate Command streaming service in 2018. The series ran from February 14 to March 8, handing fans 10 episodes, each running 10 minutes, which were later stitched together to create a feature-length film in 4K HD. The subscription service debuted in 2017 and has since been shut down, with MGM announcing in November the content will be free on YouTube.
Emmerich's response basically confirms a reboot is indeed in the works, following a recent Twitter campaign to have Stargate brought back in some form. Fans who have been following Stargate since the beginning might be a little disappointed to learn that his influence, if any, will be very little. However, the franchise has been operating without direct involvement from him since the original film released 26 years ago, and the output has been tremendous.
Midway is now available on Digital, 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and On Demand from Lionsgate.