From SciFiWire comes the official announcement of Stargate Universe, with a bit more detail on the concept:
Stargate Universe Coming
SCI FI Channel announced that it has given a green light to produce Stargate Universe, the third series in the long-running SF franchise, with production on the MGM Television Entertainment show set to begin in early 2009.
Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, co-creators of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, will serve as executive producers and writers on the new show. (Atlantis ends its five seasons next year but will continue in a two-hour telefilm.)
“SCI FI has enjoyed tremendous success with Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, and we’re proud to be the home of the new Stargate Universe,” Mark Stern, executive vice president, original programming for SCI FI, said in a statement. “Universe will continue the Stargate legacy of vibrant storylines and compelling adventures, but will re-invent the format in a whole new way.”
After unlocking the mystery of the Stargate’s ninth chevron, a team of explorers travels to an unmanned starship called the Destiny, launched by the Ancients at the height of their civilization as a grand experiment set in motion but never completed.
What starts as a simple reconnaissance turns into a never-ending mission as the Stargate Universe crew discovers that the ship is unable to return to Earth and that they must now fend for themselves aboard the Destiny.
The crew will travel to the far reaches of the universe, connecting with each of the previously launched Stargates, thus fulfilling the Destiny‘s original mission.
Stargate Universe will debut as a two-hour movie event on SCI FI. Following its premiere, Universe will assume a regular hourly slot in the summer of 2009.
hi.. what about stargate sg1 third movie?
is there going to be one?
after continumm i can’t wait…
with all the rispect to stargate univerese sg1 rules!!
The announcement of Brad Wright’s involvement with kicking off SGU does make it seem that the next SG-1 movie has been put on the back burner. There has been no official announcement for the third movie, but only quotes from various interviews that Wright is putting together the script. With SGU’s being greenlit to premiere in the summer of 2009, they have to begin casting, script writing, and all of that pre-production stuff right now.
Christopher Judge has been the only one to put a specific date as to the start of filming for the third movie — January 2009 — but that was all said before SGU got the go.
Fric and Frac need to chill and let Joe and Paul do some writing on the Stargate DVD movies. Bring some fresh ideas in. Let them get some credit. As soon as Universe starts to flop brad and coop shute will no doubt bring in cross over actors to try and build up ratings…I can see it comming. I will watch the 2 hour premier and I will offer my honest opinion…..
I’m not sure bringing Joe and Paul over is the way to go for fresh ideas, they seem to have become stale and the show was running pretty much on idle.
I’m having a hard time imagining guest appearances by any of the main SG-1 and SGA casts, since these guys on the Destiny are basically stranded. We don’t want to end SG-1 and SGA movies by sending a main character out in the middle of nowhere, do we?
Cross-overs will probably amount to SG-1/SGA main characters making the discovery of the 9th chevron and then sending the poor “young and desperate explorers” off on their one-way ticket to adventure in the big universe.