Peacock is no longer working on its long-in-development Battlestar Galactica reboot.
Variety first broke the news, which IGN has confirmed with a source with knowledge of the situation. Although the project was never formally ordered the series, it's now firmly on the shelf after years of development. According to Variety, Universal Content Productions, the studio overseeing the show, will attempt to shop it around to other platforms.
Peacock’s Battlestar Galactica was originally positioned to be a piece of a larger connected universe that is now left floating in space. Announced in 2019, the series was pitched as a new story that takes inspiration from the 2004 series created by Ron D. Moore. Mr. Robot showrunner Sam Esmail has since headed up the project as executive producer.
Updates have dripped out since its reveal, with Moore confirming in 2020 that the reboot would take place within the same universe as the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series. Though more specific story details have remained a mystery, Deadline reported earlier this year that Derek Simonds (Call Me by Your Name, The Sinner) was attached as writer, executive producer, and showrunner. The Little Drummer Girl’s Michael Lesslie had previously been picked to steer the series but eventually left.
In 2022, the series was said to be connected to a new Battlestar Galactica movie written by X-Men’s Simon Kinberg, though its status is unclear. It’s also unclear who will remain attached to the series project should it survive with another buyer. While we wait to see how the Battlestar Galactica franchise may continue in the future, you can read our coverage from a panel with Moore at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, where we learned about what the show would look like if it was created today.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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