The Battlestar Galactica franchise is chiefly known for its television offerings, but for more than a decade now, there have been numerous attempts to bring the Cylon-filled mythology to the big screen. It’s been a couple years since we last heard any major updates concerning the Battlestar Galactica movie, but today bring work that longtime X-Men franchise contributor Simon Kinberg has been brought aboard the project.
According to THR, Simon Kinberg will write and produce the Battlestar Galactica movie, and rather than work off a preexisting script, he’ll be tackling the story “from the ground up.” Kinberg will work alongside producer Dylan Clark, who has been attached to the Battlestar Galactica movie for many years. Here’s what Kinberg had to say about joining the project in a statement:
Battlestar Galactica is one of the holy grails in science fiction, and I couldn't be more excited about bringing something new to the franchise, while honoring what's made it so iconic and enduring. I’m so grateful that Dylan and my partners at Universal have trusted me with this incredible universe.
In the world of franchise filmmaking, Simon Kinberg is best known for his work on the X-Men movies, which started when he boarded 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand as a co-writer. Kinberg would go on to co-write X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse, as well as produce those movies and various other mutant-centric tales, and he made his directorial debut with last year’s Dark Phoenix.
Now that the X-Men are over at Marvel Studios thanks to Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Simon Kinberg’s time with the mutants is over. However, he’s been keeping busy since then with the spy film The 355, which comes out next January, and he’s also attached to produce the film adaptation of Any Weir’s novel Artemis, which is fitting since Kinberg was also a producer on the movie version of The Martian, Weir’s first novel.
The original Battlestar Galactica TV series only aired for one season in the late 1970s, but it became a cult favorite, and in the 2000s, the then-Sci-Fi Channel launched a re-imagined series that was met with critical acclaim. There are a lot of differences between the two Battlestar Galactica shows (namely with the first being more lighthearted and the second being incredibly dark), but they both share the core premise of following the survivors of human colonies that were wiped out by the Cylons, with those still alive now venturing to find Earth, with the eponymous ship leading the journey. So expect the movie to retain those basic beats.
Almost two full years ago, it was reported The Girl in the Spider’s Web’s Jay Basu had been hired to rewrite the Battlestar Galactica movie, but Universal Pictures now feels it’s in better hands with Simon Kinberg holding the creative reins. That said, it’s interesting that the movie is still happening considering that Battlestar Galactica is gearing up to return to the small screen.
Mr. Robot showrunner Sam Esmail is executive producing a Battlestar Galactica series for Peacock. It’s been implied that this new show will be inspired by the 2000s series, although whether it will have any direct ties to its predecessor remains unclear. So with two new, separate takes on Battlestar Galactica on the way, fingers crossed the movie is able to do enough to stand out from what’s heading to streaming.
We here at CinemaBlend will keep you updated on how Simon Kinberg’s Battlestar Galactica movie is coming along, but for now, be sure to scan through our 2021 release schedule.
