Roland Emmerich to Direct STARGATE Reboot; Will Launch New Trilogy

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By Adam Chitwood

Published May 30, 2014

Warner Bros. and MGM are moving forward on a Stargate reboot with Roland Emmerich returning to direct. The remake will kick off a new trilogy.

Director Roland Emmerich has been talking about a potential sequel or reboot of his 1994 sci-fi film Stargate for some time now, but it appears that it is actually becoming a reality. Warner Bros. and MGM will partner on a Stargate reboot, with Emmerich poised to direct the new iteration of his own film. Producer Dean Devlin will also resume his duties as producer of the new pic as well, though it’s unclear how soon the remake could come to fruition. For those unfamiliar with the property, the original Stargate stars Kurt Russell and James Spader and revolves around a team of U.S. military professionals who discover and enter a wormhole to another planet.

Hit the jump for more on the reboot and Emmerich’s very busy upcoming slate.

Per THR, this new Stargate reboot aims to launch a new feature film trilogy. Emmerich has been enthusiastically talking about the project for years, so one imagines he has a clear story in mind. However, it might be some time before he’s able to get to Stargate. Emmerich is currently in production on his small-scale gay rights drama Stonewall while simultaneously prepping Independence Day 2, which he will shoot directly after.

The filmmaker was initially planning two Independence Day sequels that would shoot back-to-back, but subsequently insiuated that Sony would rather wait and see how the first follow-up does before greenlighting a second. With a release date of July 1, 2016 for Independence Day 2, that puts Emmerich out of commission for the next two years. Sony may change it's mind regarding Indpendence Day 3 in the meantime, so it’s unclear where this leaves Stargate. Emmerich is passionate about the project, though, so one imagines he won’t let it fall by the wayside.

With regards to the reboot itself, it is a bit odd to see the exact same team that made the original film return to make the new version. I'll be interested to see if they have a considerably new take, or if this will still follow the same basic outline of the first film. Watch the trailer for the original Stargate below.