Stargate

''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the rights to the original film. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien wormhole (specifically an Einstein–Rosen bridge) device (the Stargate) that enables nearly instantaneous travel across the cosmos. The franchise began with the film ''Stargate'', released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, which grossed US$197million worldwide. In 1997, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created a television series titled ''Stargate SG-1'' as a sequel to the film. This show was joined by ''Stargate Atlantis'' in 2004, '' Stargate Universe'' in 2009, and a prequel web series, '' Stargate Origins'', in 2018. Also consistent with the same story are a variety of books, video games and comic books, as well as the direct-to-DVD movies '' Stargate: Children of the Gods'', '' Stargate: The Ark of Truth'', and '' Stargate: Continuum'', which concluded the first television show after 10 seasons.

In 2011, ''Stargate Universe'', the last ''Stargate'' program on television ended its run. Brad Wright announced that there were no more plans to continue the same story in further productions. In 2016, comic publisher American Mythology acquired the rights to publish new ''Stargate Atlantis'' stories set within the established franchise canon. This was expanded in 2017 to include new ''Stargate Universe'' comics as well, resolving the cliffhanger that ended the show. The predominant story arc thus ran for more than 15 years, including 18 seasons (364 episodes) of programming, and 22 comic book issues as of January 2020. However, a variety of other media either ignore this main continuity or reset it, while maintaining essential elements that define the franchise (mainly, the inclusion of a Stargate device). These include the 2002 animated series '' Stargate Infinity''.

In 2017, the franchise was briefly revived with the announcement of a new prequel web series, '' Stargate Origins''. Episodes premiered on a central "fan hub" for the franchise called Stargate Command, with a single season of ten 10-minute episodes.

Premise

The ''Stargate'' franchise is built around the in-universe titular device of the Stargate, a ring-shaped device built by an ancient intergalactic race of beings that allows almost instantaneous travel across vast distances via wormholes that can be "dialed" between any two Stargates on the network. The shows themselves are typically set contemporaneous to when they were made, featuring real-world or "realistic" technologies in an otherwise science-fiction setting. Most incarnations of the franchise follow a similar structure, following the exploits of the lead expeditionary team of the show's setting on various one-off or season-arc continuing episodes, with major differences being the principal setting and main villains faced.

Franchise releases

Due to multiple developers working separately and independently on the franchise over the years, the various ''Stargate'' productions are not entirely consistent with each other; and while no set of works forms an official canon, the largest following exists for the three live-action series.

Media releases

Films

Television

Documentaries and specials

Game releases

* ''Stargate: Timekeepers'' is a live strategy video game which began development in May 2021 and released January 23, 2024 for the PC from Slitherine and CreativeForge Games.
* '' Stargate SG-1: Unleashed'' is an adventure game featuring the original SG-1 team for Android and iOS developed by MGM and Arkalis Interactive.
* '' Stargate: Resistance'' is an online, third-person shooter. It was released February 10, 2010. It has since been cancelled due to contracts with MGM. It is still downloadable, however.
* ''Stargate Worlds'' was a Stargate-universe massively multiplayer online role-playing game in development before its cancellation. The writers and producers of Stargate viewed Stargate Worlds as running side by side with the show in complete canon.
* '' Stargate SG-1: The Alliance'' was a computer game based on the Stargate universe, which was due to be released in late 2005, but was canceled.
* A Stargate Trading Card game was released in May 2007. It is available in both Online and Print forms. Designed by Sony Online Entertainmentwho also run the Online version of the gameand published by Comic Images.
* A Stargate Role-Playing Game ( RPG) was produced by Alderac Entertainment. It was considered canon by both the publishers, and the staff of MGM. However, when Sony bought MGM, they lost the license to produce Stargate RPG products and the RPG license was unassigned.
* In 2021, Wyvern Gaming produced another Stargate SG-1 RPG, built on the Dungeons & Dragons 5e system. Similar to the Alderac-produced game, it and the adventure modules published for it were considered canon, but again a purchase - this time Amazon Studios' purchase of MGM - interrupted or killed the licensing and subsequent development of game expansions.
* Two video games based on the film were published by Acclaim Entertainment: a 1995 eponymous side-scrolling platform game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis, and a Tetris-like puzzle video game for the Game Gear and Game Boy.
* There are three simulator-style amusement park rides named ''Stargate SG-3000'' located at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Six Flags Great America, and Six Flags Marine World.
* A Stargate pinball game was produced by Gottlieb.

''Stargate'' franchise timeline

Theatrical films

''Stargate''

The titular 1994 film ''Stargate'', directed by Roland Emmerich and co-written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin, focuses on the initial "re-discovery" of the Stargate on Earth and the first expedition off-world. The film sees a team led by Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell) and including Egyptologist Daniel Jackson ( James Spader) venture through the Stargate to the planet of Abydos, finding a society of ancient Egyptian-speaking humans ruled by a space-faring alien posing in the role of the ancient Egyptian sun god Ra. The expedition eventually liberates the society from the control of the alien, killing it in the process, before the survivors (bar Daniel, who had ingrained himself with the locals) return to Earth.

Television

''SG-1''

In 1997, Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright co-developed ''Stargate SG-1'', a television series intended to continue the story laid down by the original film. Although new actors were cast, several roles from the film were reprised, including the main characters Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill (which was re-spelled to include an extra "L"). The setting was transferred from a fictional military facility located in Creek Mountain, to Stargate Command which was based in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The show for the first eight seasons initially focused on efforts by Stargate Command to combat the Goa'uld, the race of beings to whom the alien calling itself Ra had belonged to, and their leaders known as the System Lords while liberating both the human populations they had enslaved throughout the galaxy as well as their enslaved armies of mutated humans known as the Jaffa. For the final two seasons the show moved to a new threat, the Ori, which were inspired by Arthurian legend.

The series debuted on Showtime on July 27, 1997, and moved to the Sci-Fi Channel after its fifth season. It starred Richard Dean Anderson (as O'Neill) and Michael Shanks (as Jackson), alongside Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Don S. Davis respectively playing the new characters Samantha Carter, Teal'c and George Hammond. The cast remained fairly regular for most of ''SG-1'' run, but experienced some changes. Michael Shanks left the show at the end of Season5 and was replaced by Corin Nemec as Jonas Quinn. Shanks returned at the beginning of Season7 and Nemec was written out. At the end of Season7 Davis left the show and Anderson filled the gap he left in the story. Season9 saw the departure of Anderson, but added new regulars Beau Bridges and Ben Browder. After a debut episode in Season 8, followed by appearances in eight episodes of Season 9, Claudia Black's popular reception earned her a position in the regular cast in Season 10.

MGM put an average of $1,400,000 into each episode of the show, and regarded it as one of its most important franchises. ''SG-1'' was taken off air in 2007; however, two direct-to-DVD movies entitled '' The Ark of Truth and Stargate Continuum'' were made to tie up loose ends.

''The Ark of Truth'', ''Continuum'' and ''Children of the Gods''

'' Stargate: The Ark of Truth'' is a direct-to-DVD movie written and directed by Robert C. Cooper. The film is the conclusion of ''Stargate SG-1'''s Ori arc, and picks up after the SG-1 series finale, but takes place before the fourth season of ''Stargate Atlantis''. ''The Ark of Truth'' was released as a Region1 DVD release on March 11, 2008. Sky One has broadcast the film on March 24, 2008, to be followed by the Region2 DVD release on April 28, 2008, with the Region4 DVD release on April 9, 2008.

'' Stargate: Continuum'' is a direct-to-DVD movie written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood. Some scenes for this movie were already shot at the end of March 2007, but the original start date was set for May 22 at Vancouver's Bridge Studios. The production budget was $7million. The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 29, 2008. The Region4 DVD was released on August 6, 2008, with the Region2 DVD released on August 18, 2008; followed by possible TV broadcasts. The film is a time-travel adventure and is the second sequel to ''Stargate SG-1'', after ''Stargate: The Ark of Truth''.

'' Stargate: Children of the Gods'' is a direct-to-DVD movie written by Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright and directed by Mario Azzopardi.
The ''Stargate SG-1'' pilot episode was re-cut as a third ''Stargate SG-1'' direct-to- DVD special and released on July 21, 2009, by MGM Home Entertainment in 16:9 widescreen format. A few months before its release, executive producer Brad Wright announced it would be enhanced with brand new visual effects and scenes not previously included in the television version. The beginning was to be slightly altered, a new scene added, and the nudity scene taken out to make this episode suitable for children, with the final movie roughly seven minutes shorter than the original episode.

''Atlantis''

''Stargate Atlantis'' was a spin-off television series from ''Stargate SG-1''. A new feature film was originally intended to transition the two series after the sixth season of ''SG-1''. Later, ''SG-1'' was renewed for a seventh season, and the feature film was then planned to transition that season. Finally, when ''SG-1'' was renewed for an eighth season, the intended film instead became the two-part season finale episode " Lost City", and the setting of ''Stargate Atlantis'' was moved to the Pegasus galaxy. This allowed the two shows to exist side-by-side within the same fictional universe, and later the two shows even become interconnected. ''Atlantis'' was developed by most of the same people and in the same studios as ''SG-1''.

The series follows the adventures of the "Atlantis expedition", an international combination of military forces and civilian scientists who travel to the Pegasus Galaxy in search of the Lost City of Atlantis, built by the ancient race of beings who had built the Stargates. Throughout the five-year run the show mostly focused on the expedition fighting an alien species known as the Wraith, who are required to periodically feed on humans to survive and for thousands of years terrorised the humans of the galaxy, all while preventing their new foes from reaching the Milky Way.

''Atlantis'' debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 16, 2004, starring Joe Flanigan and Torri Higginson in the lead roles, with Rainbow Sun Francks, David Hewlett, and Rachel Luttrell alongside. Hewlett and Higginson's characters had previously appeared in ''SG-1'' (though Higginson inherited the role from actress Jessica Steen). In ''Atlantis second season, Paul McGillion and Jason Momoa (replacing Francks) were added as regulars. At the end of the third season, Higginson and McGillion were removed as regulars, both serving recurring roles in the 4th season. Season4 brought in Amanda Tapping, reprising her role as Samantha Carter from SG-1, and Jewel Staite in a recurring role. Tapping left the show for Season5 to concentrate on ''Sanctuary'', and was replaced by Robert Picardo, who reprised his role as Richard Woolsey from both ''SG-1'' and ''Atlantis''. However, in late summer 2008, it was announced that SciFi would not renew ''Atlantis''. The final episode aired on January 9, 2009.

''Universe''

'' Stargate Universe'' is the third live-action ''Stargate'' series, and premiered on October 2, 2009. The series was pitched to the Sci Fi Channel in the fall of 2007, just before the writer's strikewhich put a hold on the project. "The pitch was received very well," according to Stargate Atlantis co-creator Brad Wright. Sci Fi Channel ordered ''Universe'' after announcing the cancellation of ''Stargate Atlantis''. Syfy announced on December 16, 2010, that they would not pick the show up for a third season. The final episode aired May 9, 2011.

The shows focuses on an expedition being stranded several billion light years from Earth on board an Ancient ship called ''Destiny,'' which has been traveling through the universe uncrewed for millions of years. The show follows the crew as they struggle to survive on board ''Destiny'' with no apparent way home. The show was intended to have a darker tone than its predecessors and delve more into the humanity of the characters and their relationships with each other.

''Stargate Origins''

In July 2017, a web series called '' Stargate Origins'' was announced at a San Diego Comic-Con Panel celebrating the franchise's 20th anniversary. It focuses on the character of Catherine Langford and is a prequel both to the television continuity and to the original feature film. The shooting began in August 2017 and series premiered online at the Stargate Command website on February 15, 2018.

The cast includes Ellie Gall as the young Catherine Langford, Connor Trinneer as Catherine's father, Professor Paul Langford, Aylam Orian as Dr. Wilhelm Brücke, a high-ranking Nazi officer, Philip Alexander as Captain James Beal, British officer stationed in Egypt, and Shvan Aladdin as Wasif, a native Egyptian and a lieutenant in the British army.

''Infinity''

'' Stargate Infinity'' is an American-French animated science fiction television series created by Eric Lewald and Michael Maliani as a spin-off from its sister show, ''Stargate SG-1''. The story arc in ''Infinity'' is set 30 years into the future and follows Gus Bonner and his team. Bonner's team was created after he was framed for a crime he did not commit. He escaped from Stargate Command (SGC) after the hostile alien race Tlak'kahn attacked the SGC to find the chrysalis. Together with his team he escapes through the Stargate with the chrysalis. From that point forward they go from planet to planet until they find the evidence to clear their names while learning about the unique cultures in the galaxy, so that they can one day return to Earth. The story arc was never resolved because of low viewership ratings and the show was cancelled in 2003.

''Stargate Infinity'' premiered in September 2002 as part of 4Kids Entertainment's FOX BOX Saturday morning line-up on FOX and went off the air in June 2003. Due to its lack of popularity the show is almost completely unrecognized. The series was cancelled before any of its story arcs could be resolved. The show was of low budget, which was constantly noted by the media. DIC Entertainment released a 4-episode DVD on October 7, 2003, in Region1. MGM Home Entertainment released a five disc season box set on August 13, 2007, in Region2. Shout! Factory, a company known for releasing cult animated series, acquired the rights to the show and released the entire series to DVD on May 13, 2008, in Region1. , there is yet to come a release of ''Stargate Infinity'' package in Region4, namely Oceania and Latin America.

The writers and producers of ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Stargate Atlantis'' and '' Stargate Universe'' and the main canon of the ''Stargate'' franchise were not involved with ''Infinity'', and neither MGM, the production teams nor the fans of ''Stargate'' consider ''Infinity'' to be an official part of the ''Stargate'' universe. According to ''Stargate SG-1'' co-creator Brad Wright, the animated series should not be considered official ''Stargate'' canon. Commenting on it, he stated, "I don't have a problem with it. I'm just not involved."

Reception

''Stargate'' took in $16.7million on its opening weekend and $196.6million overall, and received mixed reactions from critics; while it was panned by some critics such as Roger Ebert, several positive reviews counterbalanced this leading to a score of 46% on Rotten Tomatoes. Although the film was originally intended as the first of a trilogy, Emmerich and Devlin ultimately moved on to produce ''Independence Day'', and it was not until 2006 that Devlin showed renewed interest in developing sequels. In the intervening time, copyright-holder MGM succeeded the film with the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' without the input of Emmerich and Devlin.

''Stargate SG-1'' has won the Saturn Award for ''Best Syndicated Television Series'' on numerous occasions, and its cast has won similar awards for acting. More recently, it received acclaim for its visual effects, which increased in quality and realism as the show gained a larger budget. On August 21, 2006, the Sci Fi Channel announced that it would not be renewing ''Stargate SG-1'' for an eleventh season after a series of poor performances in the Nielsen ratings. Many fans were enraged at the news, even creating websites in reaction to exhibit their commitment to the series. Spokesmen for the production have said all options for the continuation of ''SG-1'' are being considered, including complete digital broadcasting. Executive producer Robert C. Cooper told the fansite GateWorld exclusively that he was working to continue ''SG-1''. Currently, no network or company has ordered new episodes of ''SG-1'', so the show is on hold until a new buyer can be found. However, SciFi has attempted to block other networks from taking up the show, citing its original exclusive contract with MGM. ''Atlantis'' proved to be as successful as ''SG-1'', with Nielsen ratings and viewership. The ''Stargate'' franchise in 2009 won a Constellation Award in the category of Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2008.

The average viewership to ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Atlantis'' was around ten million a week worldwide. According to ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Atlantis'' co-creator Brad Wright, the show is popular in Great Britain, Germany, France and Australia, but with a steadily declining viewership in homeland Canada. About thirty million ''Stargate'' DVDs were sold worldwide by 2006.

The DVD release of '' Stargate: The Ark of Truth'' in the US earned MGM/Fox $1.59million in rentals in the first week after the release, and another $1.38million in rentals in the second week. In its third week it earned US$1.19million in rentals totaling $4.16million. The DVD has also earned $9million in sales. '' Stargate: Continuum'' would go on to gross over $8million United States dollars in the United States. The film sparked mostly positive reviews with movie critics. A third ''Stargate SG-1'' movie was planned to follow ''Continuum'', but the third movie was put on hold with any other future Stargate movies; the film would have centered around the character of Jack O'Neill.

In 2010 ''Stargate'' was estimated to have injected $1 billion in to the economy of British Columbia.

Literature

There are three series of novels based on the ''Stargate'' franchise, one based on the original ''Stargate'' film and two based in the ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Stargate Atlantis'' television shows. A series of books written by Bill McCay, published from 1995 to 1999, were unofficial sequels to the film.

From 1999 to 2001, ROC published four novels based in ''Stargate SG-1'' written by Ashley McConnell. In 2004, UK-based Fandemonium Press started a new series of licensed tie-in novels based on ''Stargate SG-1''. Due to the conflict with ROC's license, these books were available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK, but not in the US. Fandemonium books became available in the US in 2006. The official ''Stargate Magazine'', produced by Titan Publishing, began publishing short stories written by Fandemonium authors in their 8th issue. The stories alternate between ''SG-1'' and ''Atlantis''.

A series of comic books, based on ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Stargate Atlantis'', began to be published by Avatar Press in 2003. Five have been published to date, with stories by James Anthony and artwork by Jorge Correa. In February 2008, it was announced that Big Finish Productions would release officially licensed audiobooks featuring members of the cast reading new stories. The first two stories, available on CD and digital download, are '' Gift of the Gods'' read by Michael Shanks and '' A Necessary Evil'' read by Torri Higginson.

Future

''Stargate'' (1994) continuity

After Bill McCay had written a series of five novels continuing the story the original creators had envisioned, and despite the success of the ''Stargate'' television series, in 2006, Dean Devlin said: "He has struck a production deal with MGM and is developing the long-delayed sequel feature films that will pick up the story from the 1994 original." According to Devlin, two movie sequels would have picked up the story from the 1994 original, but not the mythology of the ''SG-1'' and ''Atlantis'' series, with the original stars Kurt Russell and James Spader. Devlin regretted giving MGM control over the franchise. The first film already tapped into Egyptian mythology; the second one would have moved into other mythologies; and the third would have then tied all the mythologies together. ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Stargate Atlantis'' producer Brad Wright said in 2002 that "Devlin can wish to do a sequel to ''Stargate'' all he wants. MGM owns the rights, and I doubt very much that they'll ask him to do it. He knows better." These sequels would bypass the 12 years of mythology created by ''SG-1'' and ''Atlantis'' if they are ever produced.

On July 4, 2011, Dean Devlin spoke out again saying he had not given up on the idea of sequels to his 1994 feature film. He talked about the idea again in a new interview with Collider. Devlin actually wrote it as a trilogy of movies, but was never able to do parts two and three. His hope was, as the series started to wind down, that perhaps it would be time to actually get to do parts two and three:

However, Devlin told ''Empire'' in November 2016 that the plans to make a reboot of a potential new series were stalled.

''SG-1''/''Atlantis''/''Universe'' continuity

In September 2018, it was reported that ''SG-1'', ''Atlantis'' and ''Universe'' showrunner Brad Wright had been approached by MGM about continuing the franchise. The following year, ''SG-1'' stars Amanda Tapping and Richard Dean Anderson further confirmed that they'd spoken to Wright and expressed their own interest in returning to the franchise in some capacity. In January 2019, Wright elaborated that his conversations with MGM pertained to continuing the television franchise in a way that fully acknowledged the "several hundred hours of show that's already out there" and not simply honouring it. In July 2020, ''SG-1'', ''Atlantis'' and ''Universe'' writer-producer Joseph Mallozzi teased Wright's project, commenting that "we've never been closer to a fourth ''Stargate'' series." This continued in September 2020, when it was reported that whilst not currently involved in writing, Mallozzi had spoken to Wright about the development, confirming it to be a fourth television series which would continue on from where ''SG-1'', ''Atlantis'' and ''Universe'' left off and include characters from those shows.

On November 21, 2020, Brad Wright confirmed that he was developing a television series of ''Stargate'' with MGM and that it would be a continuation, not a reboot. He also confirmed that whilst things were progressing, the industry shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic was slowing aspects of the development. In a series of podcasts in March and May 2021, Wright continued to offer small updates on the project, including that his script features the ''SG-1'' characters of Daniel Jackson, Cameron Mitchell, Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill, with the hope that Michael Shanks, Ben Browder and Amanda Tapping all return in some capacity to their respective roles. Wright also expressed that if the series does go ahead, he would want Tapping to direct, with it being clarified by Tapping that the series was not in active production, but still being worked on by Wright. In December 2024, it was revealed that MGM was open to several pitches for reboots or spin-offs during this 2020 time-frame, one of which was pitched by Christopher Judge and would have focused on how Teal’c and Bra’tac would have led The Free Jaffa Nation into a technological utpoia which Judge compared to Wakanda. Judge stated that MGM was very receptive of the idea, keeping it "in the mix" as an alternative series if Brad Wright's continuation saw significant delays or as a miniseries like ''Origins''.

In March 2022, Amazon completed a purchase of MGM, its library, and assets, including ''Stargate''. Around that time, writer and producer on ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Atlantis'', and ''Universe'' Joseph Mallozzi teased Wright's pilot script for the new project on social media. However, in November 2022, Wright announced that his revival project was likely dead following Amazon's purchase. Judge also stated that although three different regimes at MGM supported his Free Jaffa spinoff, that Amazon killed the project when they took over.

On March 17, 2025, David Blue revealed in an interview with ''GateWorld'' that he had pitched a proposal for season 3 of ''Universe'' shortly after the end of season 2 that would have been a Choose Your Own Adventure where the audience could decide the outcome to the opened ended conclusion to season 2 as well as a three year time gap to explain development times and the age of actors. Although Brad Wright was receptive of the pitch, that idea for the third season was ultimately never pursued.

New continuity/reboot

In December 2022, Amazon Studios and MGM were reported to be taking pitches on a reboot of the ''Stargate'' franchise. The creators of ''The Expanse'', Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, were on the short list of possible showrunners for the new ''Stargate''. In a May 2023 Reddit AMA Wright stated that Amazon views ''Stargate'' as a "tentpole" franchise and that they are carefully deciding what to do with the franchise. Wright stated he considers a new Amazon ''Stargate'' reboot without the "baggage" of prior installments as "inevitable", although he himself will have no involvement in the project.

References

External links

*
* at Sci Fi Channel

''Stargate Talking Books'' Official Site

''Stargate'' Wiki

{{Stargate

Fiction about intergalactic travel
Fiction about language
Fiction about wormholes
Egyptian mythology in popular culture
Mass media franchises introduced in 1994
Mass media franchises
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer franchises
Television franchises
Adaptations of works by Roland Emmerich