One of the great IPs about extraterrestrial exploration in cinema has to be the Stargate media franchise. Challenging even Spielberg’s brilliance in its conception and execution, the film was an immediate success, critically and commercially. With humans at the forefront of the narrative threatened by an alien form that many, to this day, believe to be their culture’s god – the movie’s premise did turn a lot of heads upon release.
Now, after years of remaining on the shelves at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the property looks to be exploited in mainstream media once again, under the supervisory eye of Amazon Studios.
Amazon-MGM Deal Gives Way to a Stargate Overhaul
The Stargate universe provides a lot of hope and promises when it comes to expansion in cinema. The basic premise of the film allows for an exploration of a Star Wars-like intergalactic narrative that never halts in its search for alien life forms in different worlds. The MGM property then rightfully becomes the one to catch Amazon’s eye, especially as the e-commerce juggernaut has been looking to further their relationship, a year after the $8.5B acquisition.
For a project of this caliber, a remake or simply a reboot will not do. As reported by Jeff Sneider during an update on The Hot Mic With Jeff and John, the Amazon-MGM deal is now finally in motion and IPs are being resurrected left and right. But the reboot sits very high on Amazon’s priority list for the Stargate project, which is most likely to be a series rather than a movie.
And if the recent trend is to be followed, it seems highly likely that the studio is likely to draw in a big name for the revival of one of its most promising projects, in addition to several other rumored in-house developments, including Robocop, Rocky, Legally Blonde, Poltergeist, and Thomas Crown.
Is Amazon Cashing in Henry Cavill For a Stargate Series?
It has been a year since the closing of Amazon’s $8.5B deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on 17 March 2022. The project ideas that the two juggernauts shuffled around in the meantime have to account for one of the most brilliant lineups in Hollywood history. In the era of streaming and adaptations, Amazon has already acquired Henry Cavill for its Warhammer 40,000 series and it will not be surprising if the actor becomes a spokesperson per se of the studio in the years to come.
The Stargate Cinematic Universe needs a coveted lead to helm the ship in the wake of its resurrection. And if the media franchise is to follow in its decades-long rich pop-culture history, no other actor comes to mind right now than the sensationally appropriate Cavill. And given the actor’s prior and extensive knowledge of action and green screens, the Stargate Cinematic Universe seems a brilliant opening for the Brit-with-the-nerd-status to take up when he’s not busy cultivating and expanding his Warhammer Cinematic Universe.
Stargate (1994) is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: The Hot Mic With Jeff and John
