Two years before their epic blockbusterIndependence Dayshattered box office records in the summer of 1996,Dean Devlinco-wrote the sci-fi cult classicStargatewith directorRoland Emmerich. While the film put up decent numbers at the box office, taking in $71.5 million domestically and $196.5 million worldwide, it became an even bigger hit on the small screen with the launch ofStargate SG-1, which ran for 10 seasons and spawned numerous spinoffs. Now that their sequelIndependence Day: Resurgenceis set to hit theaters next weekend, bothDean DevlinandRoland Emmerichare eyeing areboot trilogyof their original movie.
We first reported on thisStargate rebootin 2014, with a report surfacing the following year thatDean DevlinandRoland Emmerich’sIndependence Daysequel was put on hold so they could makeStargate. That obviously never happened, withIndependence Day: Resurgencemoving ahead instead, but in an interview withVariety,Dean Devlinexplained why a reboot is necessary, instead of a sequel to the firstStargatemovie. Here’s what he had to say.
“It’s not a story that can take place 20 years later. So the only way to really tell that trilogy is to go back from the beginning and start the story all over again. It was taken away from us, and it’s tough to have your children raised by other parents, even if they do a very good job. … For us, it’s not putting down what has been done. It’s to let us finish telling our story.”
We reported last year that thissci-fi reboothas brought onIndependence Day 2writersNicolas WrightandJames A. Woods. It isn’t known if they will actually be writing all three movies in this proposed trilogy. When asked if any of their ideas for this trilogy has changed,Dean Devlinhad this to say.
“At the time that we made it, every single studio in Hollywood had told me that science fiction was dead. And Roland and I really love science fiction, so I think that’s partly why it worked and resonated. It wasn’t a cynical attempt to try and make something that was crowd-pleasing. Today, studios tend to not think of movies as trilogies or sequels (but) as cinematic universes. So as we’ve been developing it, we found all these avenues that allow it to expand. The foundation is exactly the same as what we wanted to do, but now the possibilities are much wider.”
As of now, MGM hasn’t announced a release date or revealed when production will begin, butRoland Emmerichis set to direct. MGM presidentJonathan Glickmanalso revealed that he felt it was right to bringRoland EmmerichandDean Devlinback to revitalize the franchise that had been dormant for so long. Stay tuned for more on thisStargatereboot trilogy as more details emerge.
