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When a science fiction world becomes expansive and captivating enough to resonate with fans across different generations, it reaches a point of escape velocity — one that separates it from just a single movie or TV series.
This is exactly where the extended Stargate universe found itself when Stargate Atlantis, the successful follow-up to Stargate SG-1, concluded its five-season series in 2009. With strong ratings and just before the debut of spinoff series Stargate Universe, Atlantis left the possibility open for potential TV movie sequels that unfortunately never came to fruition.
Brad Wright on the enduring appeal of the Stargate universe
Similar to his work on Stargate SG-1 with eventual The Ark co-creator Jonathan Glassner, Brad Wright co-created Stargate Atlantis (alongside Robert C. Cooper) and later went on to create Stargate Universe with Cooper.
Wright explained at the time of SGA’s cancellation that the vast world of Stargate (including Atlantis) had expanded enough to tell stories not just in Pegasus or on Earth, but in any galaxy where the Ancients’ portals could lead.
“We believe that a storyline, or a story ‘universe,’ should never truly end,” Wright told Stargate fan site GateWorld. “If there truly was a Stargate program in the real world, it could never truly ‘end.’ It must always move forward to maintain the hopeful and forward-looking essence that I believe Stargate embodies.”
Although Atlantis concluded with strong ratings, paving the way for a potential movie (tentatively titled Stargate Extinction) that never materialized, the Stargate lore continued to expand from the launch of Stargate Universe in late 2009 to the debut of the web-based series Stargate Origins in 2018.
Wright compared Stargate’s versatility in sci-fi storytelling to that of the Star Trek franchise, highlighting how Gene Roddenberry’s iconic series from the 1960s created a world where multiple movies, TV shows, and multimedia spin-offs are always possible — and appealing to fans. Just as Star Trek: The Original Series led to a plethora of new Star Trek narratives, the Stargate universe, originating from the 1994 film by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, took on a life of its own.
“It’s a world for storytelling,” Wright emphasized, underscoring how Stargate SG-1 shifted its narrative to explore new lore midway through its 10-season run. “Once we developed a richer mythology and allowed the characters to evolve, the show could progress and attract fans who would stick with it.”
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