Update: October 22, 2020
Simon Kinberg to Write and Produce BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Movie for Universal
The Cylons are on the march. Simon Kinberg has signed on to write and produce
Battlestar Galactica, Universal’s long-gestating feature adaptation of its sci-fi TV franchise.
Kinberg, who was the main architect of almost a decade’s worth of
X-Men movies, now has a new franchise universe to work with and will be starting from the ground up in telling the tale of humans on faraway planets on the run from a race of intelligent machines bent on wiping them out.
He will join producer Dylan Clark, who has long shepherded the project, which has attracted filmmakers such as Bryan Singer and Francis Lawrence over the years.
"
Battlestar Galactica is one of the holy grails in science fiction, and I couldn't be more excited about bringing something new to the franchise, while honoring what's made it so iconic and enduring," said Kinberg in a statement. "I'm so grateful that Dylan and my partners at Universal have trusted me with this incredible universe."
Galactica was the short-lived but impactful television series created by Glen A. Larson in the post-
Star Wars glow that aired in the late 1970s. The conceit was the idea of human colonies on distant galactic shores who fall pray to destructive machines known as Cylons. The survivors flee on starships and , led by the Galactica and her heroic crew, try to find a mythic human colony known as Earth.
Characters included the upstanding Commander Adama, his son Apollo, the brash Starbuck, the traitorous Baltar, plus Boomer, Athena and Cassiopeia. The humans zipped in fighter ships known as Vipers while the Cylons’ ships were called Raiders.
The show was revived and re-imagined for the post-9-11 world as a thought-provoking, politically charged series that ran to great acclaim on Syfy from 2004 to 2009. A reboot of the show is currently in development with
Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail executive producing.
Kinberg is gearing up for the release of
The 355, a female-centric spy thriller he co-wrote and directed. The movie, which features Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz, Diane Kruger and Fan Bingbing, is currently scheduled to be released by Universal on Jan. 15.
And while Kinberg is taking steps to advance as a helmer, he hasn’t forgotten his writing roots. He created and co-wrote the Apple TV+ series
Invasion, which is currently in production. He is also working with director Jason Bateman on his spec script
Here Comes the Flood for Netflix and recently sold an untitled Idris Elba-starring, Africa-set spy romance project to Apple.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h...estar-galactica-movie-for-universal-exclusive
