Stargate revival officially dead at Amazon - here's what happened, what comes next

It's tough being a Stargate fan these days.

It’s been a tough decade or so for Stargate fans, and sadly, things aren’t getting any better.

With scripts written and pre-production reportedly about to ramp up ahead of casting, Amazon has made the extraordinary decision to outright cancel its new Stargate series before it even makes it into active production.

The new Stargate TV series is dead before it even had a chance to get started.

Created by SG-1 and Atlantis alum Martin Gero, the project was touted as a continuation of the existing canon and franchise that could also appeal and bring in new fans. It was announced with major fanfare, with the creative team making every effort to include and appeal to the franchise’s large, existing fan base along the way. But it turned out, after getting a deeper look at what Gero was working on, execs at Amazon decided the project apparently wasn’t the direction they’re wanting to take the Stargate property. Despite… green-lighting it last year.

As Variety put it, the studio was “concerned that Gero’s take on the series would not have broad appeal beyond the franchise’s already dedicated fanbase.” Put simply, they thought he was making a show for Stargate fans and not a show that would make new Stargate fans.

A report at Deadline goes a bit deeper into the behind-the-scenes machinations that led to the project being axed in development, and it seems the execs who supported and green-lit the project have since moved on as part of a larger restructure inside Prime Video’s TV and film divisions. So, once the new regime came in and took a closer look, the decision was made to pull the plug — as Gero’s take and direction for the series was deemed untenable to even be retooled in a way that could make it work for the type of more accessible spin on the franchise they are now looking for.

What happens next with Stargate at Amazon?

For now, Stargate is dead.

But even with this TV project axed, the franchise will likely not stay on the shelf forever. Trade reports make clear the studio is “still exploring” ways to do something with the Stargate IP, but any future Stargate project is more likely to hail from a “fresh” creative team that doesn’t have an existing history with the franchise.

For fans, that almost certainly means a new Stargate series is far more likely to be a reboot instead of a revival. The difference there, obviously, is huge. Amazon seems keen to do something new with Stargate, which means any new project will almost certainly start clean and not connect to the prior three series and massive established canon from SG-1, Atlantis and Universe. Heck, with a full rethink, they could even opt for a movie now instead of a show to get things started. Who knows?

Most likely? We’ll get a straight-up reboot of the concept — heck, possibly even a reboot of SG-1 or something like that, taking the franchise back to the basics of what established it as a sci-fi TV mainstay in the first place. My guess? We get something that taps back into the Egyptian aesthetic, gate travel, exploration and adventure. The core, tentpole tenets of the franchise going back to the original film and iconic days of SG-1 in its early seasons.

I’m incredibly bummed about it, but from a business perspective, the cold calculation makes a certain type of sense. Prime Video sees Stargate as a sci-fi franchise with a lot of name recognition that has had a large fanbase for years. On paper, they’ll hope old fans will check out anything wit the word “Stargate” in the title no matter what, and a reboot with no prior knowledge required will have the potential to bring in more general action/sci-fi fans who just want to see what all the hype is about.

But for fans who were wanting to finally pick back up with a story in the world and canon we’ve watched and loved for more than a decade across three series and a handful of movies? It’s a heartbreaking shame.

What was the canceled Stargate series about?

That’s the million dollar question, and one we don’t actually have an answer for at this point. Which honestly might be the wildest part of this whole deal.

Gero kept his story pitch close to the vest, and never revealed any real details up to this point. But you’d have to hope someone involved in the writers room, or maybe even Gero himself (who is still under a development deal with Amazon), will now open up and at least let fans know what could’ve been.

All we do know is Gero was working hard to respect the story and shows that came before, even bringing back old school Stargate TV masterminds Brad Wright and Joe Mallozzi as consulting producers. He’d teased he had cool ideas for a ship design he was excited to see brought to life, that the series wouldn’t be “super dark.” He worked incredibly hard to come up with a pitch that excited him as a Stargate fan who knew the lore, and (he thought at least) could appeal to new fans, too. Turns out Amazon didn’t agree on that last point.

In my mind, Gero seemed to be taking the approach the new Star Trek shows have taken. Fresh takes that were accessible, but tackling some settings and stories that honored the lore but were easy and fun enough for casual fans to jump into, too. Admittedly, it’s a tough needle to thread.

My completely uninformed guess? Gero had a pitch that followed a standalone team out in a new corner of the universe (like Atlantis did), or had a crew out traveling on a ship (like Universe), which seemed the most obvious approach to tell a story that could honor the old shows and canon, but still stand off on its own doing its own thing, telling its own story. But, to be clear, that’s just my best guess.

With the new show now dead — I’m really, really curious to find out what Gero’s pitch was, and the story he wanted to tell. And as a fan, I still hope we get some new Stargate adventures someday that can still connect and recapture what fans love about it in the first place.

But… I’m not holding my breath.