We reported back in February that the long-awaited big-screen version of Battlestar Galactica would be getting a boost thanks to Michael De Luca, Scott Stuber, and Dylan Clark coming on board as producers. While those are the folks who get a project going behind the scenes, even the most deserving of movies won't get far without a writer or a director.
As Deadline reports, the screenwriter for the Battlestar Galactica movie has been set. The new HBO series Westworld was written and executive produced by Lisa Joy (Burn Notice, Pushing Daisies), who will now be scripting the sci-fi film inspired by the late Glen Larson's 1978 TV series. So that's one piece of the puzzle set, but the report also lists director Francis Lawrence as circling the project. We're reaching out for confirmation and will have an update for you when one becomes available.
Battlestar Galactica has seen a number of iterations but never a big-screen treatment, though the original series pilot "Saga of a Star World" was released theatrically ahead of the series' debut in 1978. It went on to earn two Golden Globe nominations and ran for 21 episodes, which took place after the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Mankind. The title spacecraft, the last major fighter carrier to survive the decimation, led a makeshift fugitive fleet on a desperate search for the legendary planet Earth. That central plot was carried through to future versions, including a short-lived spin-off series titled Galactica 1980, a 2003 mini-series nominated for three Primetime Emmys, and the resulting 2004 series that ran for 73 amazing episodes and actually won three Primetime Emmys.
Since that superior series went off there air, there have been a number of web-series, made-for-TV movies, and spin-off series, with Caprica and the prequel series Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome being the most recent. But a big-budget, big-screen version remains the white space whale for this franchise and its fans. Perhaps Universal will find that it has a successful space-based tentpole franchise of its very own once Battlestar Galactica gets off the ground.
Are you excited for a BSG movie? Do you want Lawrence at the helm? Let us know in the comments below!
