Variety (via SFFGazette.com) is reporting that WandaVision and Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer has been tapped by Amazon MGM Studios to develop a new Stargate TV series. This is part of her overall deal with Amazon, which was announced earlier this year.
According to the trade, a writers' room will open "in the near future," with Safehouse Pictures' Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell attached to executive produce the revamp. Of course, this isn't the first time Amazon has attempted to breathe new life into the long-running sci-fi franchise.
This past June, we learned that Martin Gero, who created NBC's Blindspot, had been dropped from an attempted revamp amid concerns his vision would only appeal to hardcore fans.
Whether Schaeffer's take fares any better remains to be seen, but she'll likely strive to reach a much broader audience as Amazon continues finding ways to bring the many franchises it acquired from MGM to streaming. Tomb Raider, Barbershop, Legally Blonde prequel Elle, Poltergeist, and Robocop are among those already here or currently in the works.
Schaeffer's contributions to the MCU garnered rave reviews and plenty of award success; WandaVision, for example, earned 23 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Agatha All Along was another critical darling, and before her Marvel work, Schaeffer penned Olaf's Frozen Adventure and The Hustle.
Stargate's premise is brilliantly simple yet infinitely expandable, making it all the more surprising that this new take was abandoned. Still, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, it seems the streamer was uncertain about relying on longtime fans returning and the ability to attract new ones when there's so much history to catch up on.
The Stargate franchise began with the 1994 movie starring James Spader and Kurt Russell, before expanding into one of sci-fi television's most enduring properties. Stargate SG-1 followed, running for 10 seasons with Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, and Christopher Judge leading the cast. The spinoff Stargate Atlantis then kept the franchise alive for another five seasons between 2004 and 2008.
In the series, ancient alien devices called "Stargates" create wormholes between planets, allowing near-instantaneous travel across the galaxy. When humans discover how to operate these mysterious portals, they form specialised military teams to explore thousands of worlds, encountering both wonders and dangers among the stars.
With Schaeffer now at the helm, can Stargate finally make its long-awaited return to the small screen? Given her track record of blending genre storytelling with character-driven drama, she could be an inspired choice to take the series in an exciting new direction.