Dean Devlin says Stargate remake “not looking good”

With Independence Day: Resurgence disappointing with both audiences and critics, it looks like it won’t be the only disappointment for its producer Dean Devlin, who has been talking about the mooted remake of his 1993 sci-fi actioner Stargate.

Speaking to Empire, Devlin confirmed that the project is not looking promising, saying:

“It looked good for a couple of months, but now it’s not looking so good… There are just a lot of things that have to fire at the same time, and there was a moment where I thought it was all firing at the same time, and then it all kind of fell apart.”

The reasoning? That keyword “franchise” that is the buzz word at almost every studio these days. Stargate has had its own franchise already, with the film supported by television spin-offs, but that was before modern audiences wanted cinematic universes. Devlin spoke about “modern” Hollywood, saying:

“It’s one of the reasons I prefer to work independently… Listen, I think if we did Stargate right, the fans would like it and we could do something really good. But if we screw it up, they’ll reject it. As they should. But I kind of don’t want to do it if I think that we’ll screw it up, and that’s one of the things that’s holding us back.”

While remakes are all the rage these days, it is perhaps best that an original concept like Stargate is left alone to enjoy its cult status. Devlin is keeping himself busy however on his next film, Geostorm, starring Gerard Butler and Ed Harris, due in cinemas next year.