Battlestar Galactica Reboot From Mr. Robot’s Sam Esmail Names New Showrunner
Peacock‘s forthcoming Battlestar Galactica has a new captain. Derek Simonds (The Sinner) has joined the series as writer, executive producer and showrunner, TVLine has confirmed.
The reboot, which is still in development, was first announced in 2019 and originally named Michael Lesslie (The Little Drummer Girl) as its creator, writer and executive producer in 2021.
Co-executive producer Sam Esmail, who created Mr. Robot and most recently directed Netflix’s post-apocalyptic adaptation Leave the World Behind, confirmed to Deadline in October 2023 that development had resumed since the WGA strike ended. “I just read a great outline and it’s in great shape,” he revealed at the time.
The original Battlestar Galactica debuted in 1978 on ABC and followed a group of humans aboard the titular spaceship as they fled destruction from robots called the Cylons. The series, which starred Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Lorne Greene, ran for one season, after which ABC ran a short-lived spinoff, Galactica 1980.
In 2003, the show was revived as a miniseries on the Sci-Fi Channel, which later turned into the widely successful 2004 TV series. The reboot starred Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackoff and Grace Park, and ran for four seasons. It also led to the short-lived prequel, Caprica, in 2010.
The release date and casting details for Esmail’s Battlestar Galactica remain unknown, but keep checking back here for all the latest updates.
Why reboot the reboot?
The original series was good. The reboot was perfection.
This is unnecessary.
Where do you see this is a “reboot of the reboot”?. It’s a reboot of BSG, that’s all. So it can take anything from the core concepts of the original (colonies, Cylons attack, humans go on the run in search of mythical Earth) and do what it wants with it. And I welcome it.
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I’ve said this before here and elsewhere, but imagine if there was only one Romeo and Juliet, or only one Battlestar Galactica from 1978 and NO ONE REMADE THEM because someone thinks that “unnecessary”…
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Reboots always draw ire, but they also allow for new interpretation and new creative elements to shine. I’m all for it.
And you are as entitled to your opinion as I am mine.
Comparing BSG to Shakespeare is ridiculous however. Stage produtcions are a totally different medium than television.
There are so many amazing sci-fi books that could be adapted and the same with comics. Networks and streaming services should explore more adaptations than constantly rehashing the same thing that has already been done.
I am not 100% against reboots BUT there have been far too many as of late and this is far too soon.
But I didn’t compare BSG to Shakespeare. Yes, R&J is Shakespeare, but it’s been remade over and over and over again. BSG has been remade once, and soon there’ll be a second. Your post stated a BSG reboot (remake) was unnecessary but I was just pointing out that the BSG you like (from 2003) was itself a reboot, and if everyone said – “the original is all there can be, there can be no others” – we’d all be poorer for it.
You are arguing for the sake of arguing.
I have seen both BSG, unlike your assumption.
And you did make the comparison of a theatre production vs a television production. You mentioned R&J, not I
Theatre productions are entirely different.
Not everyone gets the opportunity to see stage productions, so you mentioning different interpretations of R&J, was in fact a comparison
I would prefer to see, for example, Across the Universe by Beth Revis adapted than to reboot yet another show.
As I previously stated, you are as entitled to your opinion as I am mine
I did not compare BSG to Shakespeare, nor to R&J.I noted two examples of creative works that had been remade. That’s not a comparison. It’s an illustration. You have a great rest of your day.
His example – using BSG & R&J, wasn’t intended to compare screen vs stage, obviously. …
& just because you &/or I am “entitled” to having our own opinions, doesn’t automatically “entitle” us to anything else. (like “sharing” them).
I think we all have to evaluate whether or not our opinions constitute & represent something new &/or valuable before just launching it out there, otherwise we’re just wasting our own & more importantly everyone else’s time.
Are we permitted to do so, perhaps. But, feeling entitled … seems to be the problem with the internet as a whole.
Long gone are the days where facts & experts rose above the fray.
I’d ❤️ eat my laser/phaser/taser/147gr-9mm-JHP/etc rather than be bombarded by stupidity.
But, such is life in 2024. The struggle is real.
I agree. There are so many great series of books out there both fantasy and sci-fi crying out to be adapted for tv. Besides, the ending of the BSG reboot left such a bad taste in my mouth that I’m not sure I want to get invested in another BSG reboot.
Why? It was good… more thought provoking than expected. And dark… so dark, but we should have expected that. I loved the second version, but it was too dark for my tastes. The first was beloved, but I watched it in original airing as a child, and it was made as G/PG family fare. Something in between would be nice.. something with more lightness and hope than he got with Ron’s version.
No TV show is “necessary.” I’m old enough to remember people being horrified by the prospect of the first reboot, or [gasp!] a female Starbuck.
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If you don’t like it, you will not be obligated to watch it.
Most shows and movies that are made aren’t necessary or asked for..
The good news is that even if a reboot isn’t satisfactory, the success, enjoyment, and perfection of prior versions is already set in stone no matter what, and can’t be possibly ruined….unless by reboot they actually mean continuation.
Let’s place bets, a fourth season of The Orville or this reboot / continuation ever getting made?
Can we get the rebooted Battlestar Galactica back on Peacock while this stews in development hell? It would be much appreciated.
Ridiculous.
The original was good.
The reboot was great.
There is no need for another reboot.
I won’t be watching it.
Looking forward to it. The original was amazing when it aired… for young families and children (which I was at the time). There were lots of shows for young people G/PG in the 8PM slot, and BSG was one of the best (also Buck Rodgers). It certainly had it’s plusses and minuses, touches of buddy show, family drama, and a hint of ACTUAL mysticism. The 2004 version was exceptional, but oh-so-dark. VERY different… gritty and very grounded in reality. Loved it, but it was a bit hard to love. I’m hoping for something between.
It’s time to redefine the word “reboot” in the context of either a television series (singular) or television series (plural). The term is too broadly applied. The 2004 Battlestar Galactica series wasn’t a reboot of the 1978 series. This upcoming series doesn’t seem to be a reboot of either prior Battlestar Galactica series. A Battlestar Galactica reboot is something closer to what happened intra-series with “Galactica 1980” (itself not a reboot), where the pilot episode established a time-traveling villain and suggestion of future time-traveling episode plots, but subsequent episodes had nothing to do with time travel (ABC network directive) and went in a different direction related to protecting colonial (Galactican) children on Earth.
The purpose of language is communication. I don’t think there’s anyone in doubt about what ‘reboot’ — as distinct from a continuation — means in the context of this article.
It’s not a matter of whether someone can discern the meaning of the use of the term by reading past the article headline. It’s a misuse of the term, and not helpful in communicating the substance of the article. “New Battlestar Galactica” series (or something similar) would suffice.
In TV parlance, a reboot is the same name with a new cast. IMHO, Galactica 1980 was more of a spinoff due to it having some characters from the original still on it (Boxey as an adult, Adama) and it of course had a different title.
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But TVLine had a good explainer on reboots vs revivals:
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https :// tvline .com/news/tv-reboots-vs-revivals-definitions-differences-980496/
Now I’m going to change my opinion to Galactica 1980 was a sequel, not a spinoff. It continued the timeline using some characters from the original. But this is the fun of this stuff when shows can sometimes fit more than one category…
Why?
I am looking forward to reboot of the reboot. Would like to know what happened to the Centarians? Who is God?
I am looking forward to the reboot. Would like to know what happened to the Centarians? Who is God?
its about time we had a reconnect with the series which BEST dealt with advent of A.I. going bad. Instead of plotting against masters immediately they bail and create their battle machine before engaging. Cylon differs from Teminator with this departure. Come back and fight when more ready. The Terminator Time element isnt so much a Battlestar Component.