Bryan Singer to Direct New Battlestar Galactica Film
Posted on August 13, 2009
Variety reports that Bryan Singer will direct a feature film version of Battlestar Galactica.
Battlestar_fleming Singer has long been intrigued with "Battlestar Galactica" and flirted with relaunching it into a TV series right after he directed the original "X-Men." Back in 2001 I wrote about his plan, which involved teaming with Tom DeSanto to exec produce the series. Singer planned to direct the pilot of the new version of a series that originally launched on ABC in 1978 and ran two seasons. Here is what he said at the time, comments that certainly proved prescient:So if the film is a "complete reimagination" does that mean that all the actors will be recast and the storyline will be completely different? Didn't we just finish watching the entire Battlestar Galactica story on Syfy? Why is there going to be a feature film so soon after the show ended, if it's totally different? It's all most puzzling."The lesson I learned on `X-Men' is to have a healthy respect for the fan base of sci-fi fantasy franchises, and I'm confident that the `Galactica' brand is a sleeping giant. It was a show I watched during its initial run, from the pilot to the final episode. The essence and the brand name is quite potent in a climate where there's a great deficit of scifi programming."
It is possible that the timing of the series went awry because of the World Trade Center disaster that occurred later that year. Certainly, it made a series that launched with the attack and destruction of earth unpalatable. The director got busy on other projects. Ronald Moore came on as executive producer and oversaw the 73-episode series relaunch, which had a critically acclaimed run on Syfy.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Moore would be invited to write the screenplay, but it is clear that Singer will put his own creative stamp on the project as the studio indicates that the film will be "a complete re-imagination."
Variety says the film is on the fast track and that Singer is getting paid $10 million to do it.