The long-awaited 'Battlestar Galactica' reboot is no longer in development at Peacock, diverse He learned exclusively.
The project was first announced in 2019 ahead of Peacock's official launch as part of the streaming service's initial slate of original programming. However, it was never officially released as a series, and has been in development ever since. Exact story details have never emerged, but the show is said to be set in the same continuity as the 2003 “Battlestar Galactica” series.
The reboot was a passion project for Sam Esmail, who was an executive producer via Esmail Corp. under the company’s overall deal with the studio UCP. Esmail Corp.’s Chad Hamilton was also an executive producer. Michael Leslie originally joined as a writer for the reboot in 2020, but reportedly left the project in 2021. Most recently, it was reported in January that Derek Simmonds had been hired as a writer, executive producer, and showrunner.
According to a person familiar with the situation, UCP will sell the project to other outlets.
Peacock has only had a handful of sci-fi series so far. The streaming service has previously had success with shows like the Natasha Lyonne-starring mystery “Poker Face” (which is gearing up for a second season), a Seth MacFarlane “Ted” prequel (also gearing up for a second season), and the live-action “Twisted Metal” (again, gearing up for a second season). On the horizon, Peacock has upcoming shows like “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,” which features an all-star cast including Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, and Don Cheadle.
The original series “Battlestar Galactica” was created by Glen A. Larson and featured an ensemble cast that included Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, and Maren Jensen. It aired for one season in 1978 on ABC, which was followed by a short-lived continuation titled “Galactica 1980.” The original series also inspired a series of comic books, novels, board games, and video games.
Ronald D. Moore and the Sci Fi Channel (now Syfy) then rebooted the series in 2003 with a three-hour miniseries, featuring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, and Katee Sackhoff. The success of this project led Syfy and Sky Television to commission a new series with the returning cast of the miniseries. The show proved incredibly popular, running for four seasons and also spawning two television movies, ending in 2009. A prequel series, “Caprica,” aired on Syfy for one season in 2010.
In Battlestar Galactica, humanity is locked in a devastating war with a race of sentient robots known as the Cylons. After the Cylons wipe out much of the human population living in a series of colonies in a distant star system, survivors set off aboard civilian ships and the show's titular warship to search for a long-forgotten colony called Earth.
