Roland Emmerich Turned Down Stargate SG-1 For One Reason

Those unfamiliar with the franchise will be shocked to learn the sheer volume of “Stargate” media there is in the universe. The “Stargate” saga began in 1994 with the release of Roland Emmerich’s ultra-slick sci-fi movie, a gigantic hit that really thrust Emmerich into the American mass consciousness. The 1994 movie starred James Spader and Kurt Russell as a scientist and a soldier (respectively) who begin dabbling with an ancient Egyptian portal that, they find, grants them instant access to distant planets. They find that Ancient Egypt was once lousy with space aliens, and that creatures from beyond the stars have been influencing human history for millennia. 

The film was only warmly reviewed, but it made almost $200 million on a $55 million budget, and it lodged itself into pop culture, seemingly in perpetuity. In 1997, the TV series “Stargate SG-1” debuted on Showtime, gaining a passionate cult audience almost immediately. The series greatly expanded the film’s lore, and hummed away gently in the background for a full decade, running for 214 episodes over ten seasons. The TV series also led to multiple spinoffs, including “Stargate: Atlantis,” “Stargate: Universe,” “Stargate: Infinity,” and “Stargate: Origins.” All told, the “Stargate” franchise offers about 450 hours of entertainment, and that’s not even counting all the books and video games. 

“Stargate SG-1” was co-created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, and recast the Russell and Spader characters (with Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks). Emmerich and his movie co-screenwriter, Dead Devlin, had nothing to do with the inception or the making of “SG-1.” Indeed, in a 2022 interview with Space.com, Emmerich noted that he had no interest in returning to “Stargate,” as he had kind of lost interest.

Given that humanity is living in a reboot-happy world, why hasn’t “Stargate” been restarted yet? According to Emmerich, the brand had become too scattered. He understood that anyone calling themselves a “Stargate Fan” in 2022 was likely talking about the many TV shows and not his 1994 feature film. He also noted that he was contractually only on the line for movies, which would require him to essentially start an entirely new mythos, separate from the huge amount of TV-based lore already in the world. 

As for his non-participation on the “Stargate” TV series, Emmerich said he wasn’t willing to work within the confines of the medium’s budget, at least as it existed in 1997. Emmerich said: 

“[A new show would have] to be somebody new and interesting. And I just don’t want to go there anymore. […] We had this idea, at one point to do [‘Stargate’] as a TV show, but it was way too expensive … You know, everything I do has to have a certain quality level. So, actually I said no to the TV show because it was like only $800,000 [per episode]. And I knew that at that time they were shooting, like, ‘X-Files’ that spent like $1.6, $1.8 [million] … I knew I cannot do what I wanted to do with that.”

Which is fair. Emmerich’s sci-fi projects tend to be enormous affairs with giant budgets and extensive special effects. The $55 million budget of his original “Stargate” movie is downright modest compared to what the director would spend on movies like “Moonfall” and “2012.” Perhaps in the modern streaming era, when TV shows can cost about $20 million an episode, an Emmerich-backed “Stargate” series might get funded by an overzealous, overmoneyed studio. But, as Emmerich noted, it’s not possible to reboot the movie anymore. 

Emmerich did say, though, that he hope someone else gives it a try.