Amazon MGM Studios is not moving forward with Martin Gero’s Stargate revival, which was to begin filming this fall. (UPDATED)
Stargate fans can’t seem to catch a break.
Amazon MGM Studios has backtracked on its plan to reopen the Stargate with a new series from writer and executive producer Martin Gero, Variety has reported and GateWorld has confirmed. The show was to stream globally on Prime Video.
The show was announced in November in a video from the studio, with Gero and fellow Stargate TV veterans Brad Wright and Joseph Mallozzi taking the news straight to the fans.
Citing an anonymous source with knowledge of the situation, Variety reports that executives at the studio were concerned that Gero’s take on the series “would not have broad appeal beyond the franchise’s already dedicated fanbase.” This is a key component in reviving a legacy IP, as it can be difficult to justify a large price tag (such as a big-budget streaming series) if a project only reaches existing fans, and fails to grow the audience.
The previous decade saw a gold rush for continuations of recognizable brands, especially as individual studios launched their own streaming services and reached into their vault to find old properties to resurrect. But today many TV and movie franchises are struggling with to appeal both to core fans and new viewers — from Star Wars and Star Trek to the Marvel cinematic universe.
Deadline added some additional context from its own reporting, suggesting that a change in the studio’s overall strategy following executive turnovers might be the reason behind the abrupt cancellation. Stargate was picked up under Amazon MGM Studios television head Peter Friedlander, with Nick Pepper and Matt King spearheading the revival project. Pepper and King have since left the studio, and “worldbuilding and genre series” now falls under another of Friedlander’s top lieutenants, Blair Fetter, who started in February.
Amazon MGM could revisit Stargate with another showrunner — possibly someone without history with the existing franchise who would “give it a fresh perspective,” according to Deadline.
In March, Gero appeared on a livestream with fan outlets GateWorld and Dial the Gate to announce an impressive pair of department heads: production designer Nathan Crowley, and VFX supervisor Mohen Leo.
Gero served as a writer and producer on Stargate Atlantis before moving on to produce such series as Blindspot (which he created for NBC), and the 2022 revival of Quantum Leap.
The writer’s room for the new show was assembled in January, with casting now in the early stages and a London-based production planning to begin filming this fall. Now, it’s back to the drawing board.
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