Stargate Universe stars Robert Carlyle and Brian J. Smith have shared their thoughts on the possibility of returning for a series revival. The third television series set in the Stargate franchise after Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe followed an international team of explorers stranded on Ancient spaceship billions of lightyears away from Earth. Originally airing in 2009, the series was later dropped by Syfy after season 2 despite the season finale ending on a cliffhanger which saw the crew of the Destiny placed into stasis.
During recent interviews with Sidewalks Entertainment, Carlyle and Smith were questioned about whether they would be open to returning for a series revival. While both actors expressed their fondness for the show, Smith seemed the most enthusiastic about a potential return to his Stargate Universe character First Lieutenant Matthew Scott. Meanwhile, though Carlyle did not rule out his own return as Dr. Nicholas Rush, he did suggest that a revival was ultimately unlikely. Check out their respective comments below:
Smith: "I would love to. We’re still cryogenically frozen on the Destiny, on that spaceship somewhere out there in the cosmos. It’s kind of teed up for someone to do a movie or something where we can finish off that story. It’d be really fascinating to revisit it after all these years. I had a great time with that cast, I loved working in that world. Please, yes. If that happens sign me up."
Carlyle: "You never say never, I’ve learned that. I would think it would be unlikely for it to come back. It’s a shame, because I enjoyed the show. It was unfortunate what happened to it at that time, MGM who was the money at the time went bust, so everything then fell apart. But it’s unfortunate, that these characters, if anyone knows the show, they’re still up there in the sky, floating around on that ship. Whether someone takes it to bring them down to earth again, who knows."
What Are Amazon’s Plans For The Stargate Franchise?
In March 2022, Amazon finally relieved the long-running concerns for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, as the century-old studio was previously owned by a collection of hedge funds and holding companies following its financial collapse in 2010. Stepping in with an impressive $8.5 billion deal, Amazon eventually assumed ownership of MGM and the rights to an enormous catalog of lucrative franchises, such as James Bond, Robocop, and Legally Blonde. More importantly, for the dedicated fanbase of the Stargate franchise, it also marked the potential for a long-awaited return to the popular sci-fi property.
While 2018 saw MGM attempt a soft franchise revival via a prequel webseries dubbed Stargate Origins, it has been over a decade since the struggling studio made significant attempts to capitalize on the Stargate brand. However, all this seemed set to change when Amazon announced its intentions to fast-track the development of new Stargate films and television series as part of larger plans to revitalize the existing MGM IP in April 2023.
At this stage, little is known about the specifics of Amazon’s plans for the Stargate franchise. However, it has been reported that priority is being given to developing a new film as means of reintroducing audiences to the property. Whether this film will serve to pick up any of the story threads left over from Stargate Universe or any of its fellow shows remains to be seen, but most speculation seems to point toward a fresh reboot instead. Regardless, whatever path Amazon takes with the Stargate franchise, audiences will likely consider it long overdue.
Source: Sidewalks Entertainment