| Stargate | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo | |
| Created by | Dean Devlin Roland Emmerich |
| Original work | Stargate (1994) |
| Owners | Amazon MGM Studios StudioCanal(original movie only) |
| Years | 1994– Present |
| Print publications | |
| Book(s) | List of novels |
| Comics | List of comics |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | Stargate (1994) |
| Television series | Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007) Stargate Atlantis (2004–2009) Stargate Universe (2009–2011) |
| Web series | Stargate Origins (2018) |
| Animated series | Stargate Infinity (2002–2003) |
| Direct-to-video | Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008) Stargate: Continuum (2008) |
| Games | |
| Video game(s) | List of video games |
| Official website | |
| MGM | |
Stargate is amilitary science fictionmedia franchise owned byAmazon MGM Studios. It is based onthe film directed byRoland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producerDean Devlin; production companyStudioCanal owns the rights to the original film.[citation needed] The franchise is based on the idea of an alienwormhole (specifically anEinstein–Rosen bridge) device (theStargate) that enables nearlyinstantaneous travel across the cosmos. The franchise began with the filmStargate, released on October 28, 1994, byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer andCarolco, which grossedUS$197 million worldwide.[1][2] In 1997,Brad Wright andJonathan Glassner created a television series titledStargate SG-1 as a sequel to the film. This show was joined byStargate Atlantis in 2004,Stargate Universe in 2009, and a prequel web series,Stargate Origins, in 2018. Also consistent with the same story are a variety ofbooks, video games andcomic books, as well as thedirect-to-DVD moviesStargate: Children of the Gods,Stargate: The Ark of Truth, andStargate: Continuum, which concluded the first television show after 10 seasons.
In 2011,Stargate Universe, the lastStargate program on television, ended its run. Brad Wright announced that there were no more plans to continue the same story in further productions.[3] In 2016, comic publisher American Mythology acquired the rights to publish newStargate Atlantis stories set within the established franchise canon. This was expanded in 2017 to include newStargate Universe comics as well, resolving the cliffhanger that ended the show.[4] The predominant story arc thus ran for more than 15 years, including 18 seasons (364 episodes) of programming, and 22 comic book issues as of January 2020. However, a variety of other media either ignore this main continuity or reset it, while maintaining essential elements that define the franchise (mainly, the inclusion of a Stargate device). These include the 2002 animated seriesStargate Infinity.
The latest incarnation of the show was announced in November 2025, to stream via Amazon MGM Studios who now control the rights, to be led by franchise veteran Martin Gero.
TheStargate franchise is built around the in-universe titular device of theStargate, a ring-shaped device built by an ancient intergalactic race of beings that allows almost instantaneous travel across vast distances via wormholes that can be "dialed" between any two Stargates on the network. The shows themselves are typically set contemporaneous to when they were made, featuring real-world or "realistic" technologies in an otherwise science-fiction setting. Most incarnations of the franchise follow a similar structure, following the exploits of the lead expeditionary team of the show's setting on various one-off or season-arc continuing episodes, with major differences being the principal setting and main villains faced.
Due to multiple developers working separately and independently on the franchise over the years, the variousStargate productions are not entirely consistent with each other; and while no set of works forms an officialcanon, the largestfollowing exists for the three live-action series.[5]
| Film | Release date | Director | Box office revenue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | International | Total | |||
| Stargate[6] | October 28, 1994 | Roland Emmerich | $71,565,669 | $125,000,000 | $196,565,669 |
| Stargate: The Ark of Truth[7] | March 11, 2008 | Robert C. Cooper | $11,728,654[8] | $20,354,000 | $32,082,654 |
| Stargate: Continuum[9] | July 29, 2008 | Martin Wood | $9,220,127 | $17,872,384 | $27,092,511 |
| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | Creators | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | ||||||||||
| Live-action series | ||||||||||||
| Stargate SG-1[10] | 1 | 22 | July 27, 1997 (1997-07-27) | March 6, 1998 (1998-03-06) | Showtime | Brad Wright &Jonathan Glassner | ||||||
| 2 | 22 | June 26, 1998 (1998-06-26) | February 10, 1999 (1999-02-10) | |||||||||
| 3 | 22 | June 25, 1999 (1999-06-25) | March 8, 2000 (2000-03-08) | |||||||||
| 4 | 22 | June 30, 2000 (2000-06-30) | February 14, 2001 (2001-02-14) | |||||||||
| 5 | 22 | June 29, 2001 (2001-06-29) | February 6, 2002 (2002-02-06) | |||||||||
| 6 | 22 | June 7, 2002 (2002-06-07) | February 19, 2003 (2003-02-19) | Sci Fi | ||||||||
| 7 | 22 | June 19, 2003 (2003-06-19) | March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | |||||||||
| 8 | 20 | July 9, 2004 (2004-07-09) | February 22, 2005 (2005-02-22) | |||||||||
| 9 | 20 | July 15, 2005 (2005-07-15) | March 10, 2006 (2006-03-10) | |||||||||
| 10 | 20 | July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | March 13, 2007 (2007-03-13) | |||||||||
| Stargate Atlantis[11] | 1 | 20 | July 16, 2004 (2004-07-16) | March 25, 2005 (2005-03-25) | Sci Fi | Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper | ||||||
| 2 | 20 | July 15, 2005 (2005-07-15) | March 10, 2006 (2006-03-10) | |||||||||
| 3 | 20 | July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | June 22, 2007 (2007-06-22) | |||||||||
| 4 | 20 | September 28, 2007 (2007-09-28) | March 7, 2008 (2008-03-07) | |||||||||
| 5 | 20 | July 11, 2008 (2008-07-11) | January 9, 2009 (2009-01-09) | |||||||||
| Stargate Universe[12] | 1 | 20 | October 2, 2009 (2009-10-02) | June 11, 2010 (2010-06-11) | Syfy | Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper | ||||||
| 2 | 20 | September 28, 2010 (2010-09-28) | May 9, 2011 (2011-05-09) | |||||||||
| Animated series | ||||||||||||
| Stargate Infinity[13] | 1 | 26 | September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14) | March 24, 2003 (2003-03-24) | Fox (FoxBox) | Eric Lewald & Michael Maliani | ||||||
| Web series | ||||||||||||
| Stargate Origins | 1 | 10 | February 15, 2018 (2018-02-15) | March 8, 2018 (2018-03-08) | Stargate Command | Mark Ilvedson & Justin Michael Terry | ||||||
| Film | First broadcast | Director | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stargate: The Lowdown[14] | June 13, 2003 | John Murphy | Sci-Fi |
| From Stargate to Atlantis: Sci Fi Lowdown[15] | July 5, 2004 | John Murphy | Sci-Fi |
| Sci Fi Lowdown: Behind the Stargate - Secrets Revealed[16] | January 17, 2005 | John Murphy | Sci-Fi |
| Sci Fi Inside: Sci Fi Friday[17] | July 11, 2005 | Sci-Fi | |
| Stargate SG-1: True Science[18] | January 3, 2006 | Tim Usborne | Sky One |
| Sci Fi Inside: Stargate SG-1 200th Episode[19] | August 18, 2006 | John Murphy | Sci-Fi |
| 10 Years of Stargate SG-1[20] | November 2, 2006 | Space | |
| Behind the Mythology of Stargate SG-1[21] | April 13, 2007 | Ivon R. Bartok | Sci-Fi |
The titular 1994 filmStargate, directed byRoland Emmerich and co-written by Emmerich andDean Devlin, focuses on the initial "re-discovery" of the Stargate on Earth and the first expedition off-world. The film sees a team led by Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell) and including Egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) venture through the Stargate to the planet of Abydos, finding a society of ancient Egyptian-speaking humans ruled by a space-faring alien posing in the role of the ancient Egyptian sun godRa. The expedition eventually liberates the society from the control of the alien, killing it in the process, before the survivors (bar Daniel, who had ingrained himself with the locals) return to Earth.
In 1997,Jonathan Glassner andBrad Wright co-developedStargate SG-1, a television series intended to continue the story laid down by the original film. Although new actors were cast, several roles from the film were reprised, including the main characters Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill (which was re-spelled to include an extra "L"). The setting was transferred from a fictional military facility located in Creek Mountain, toStargate Command which was based in theCheyenne Mountain Complex. The show for the first eight seasons initially focused on efforts by Stargate Command to combat the Goa'uld, the race of beings to whom the alien calling itself Ra had belonged to, and their leaders known as the System Lords while liberating both the human populations they had enslaved throughout the galaxy as well as their enslaved armies of mutated humans known as theJaffa. For the final two seasons the show moved to a new threat, the Ori, which were inspired by Arthurian legend.
The series debuted onShowtime on July 27, 1997, and moved to theSci-Fi Channel after its fifth season.[25] It starredRichard Dean Anderson (asO'Neill) andMichael Shanks (asJackson), alongsideAmanda Tapping,Christopher Judge andDon S. Davis respectively playing the new charactersSamantha Carter,Teal'c andGeorge Hammond. The cast remained fairly regular for most ofSG-1's run, but experienced some changes.Michael Shanks left the show at the end of Season 5 and was replaced byCorin Nemec asJonas Quinn. Shanks returned at the beginning of Season 7 and Nemec was written out. At the end of Season 7Davis left the show and Anderson filled the gap he left in the story. Season 9 saw the departure ofAnderson, but added new regularsBeau Bridges andBen Browder. After a debut episode in Season 8, followed by appearances in eight episodes of Season 9,Claudia Black's popular reception earned her a position in the regular cast in Season 10.[26]
MGM put an average of $1,400,000 into each episode of the show, and regarded it as one of its most important franchises.[27]SG-1 was taken off air in 2007; however, twodirect-to-DVD movies entitledThe Ark of Truth andStargate Continuum were made to tie up loose ends.
Stargate: The Ark of Truth is a direct-to-DVD movie written and directed byRobert C. Cooper. The film is the conclusion ofStargate SG-1'sOri arc, and picks up after the SG-1 series finale, but takes place before the fourth season ofStargate Atlantis.The Ark of Truth was released as aRegion 1 DVD release on March 11, 2008.Sky One has broadcast the film on March 24, 2008, to be followed by theRegion 2 DVD release on April 28, 2008, with theRegion 4 DVD release on April 9, 2008.[28]
Stargate: Continuum is a direct-to-DVD movie written byBrad Wright and directed byMartin Wood. Some scenes for this movie were already shot at the end of March 2007, but the original start date was set for May 22 at Vancouver's Bridge Studios. The production budget was $7 million.[29] The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 29, 2008. The Region 4 DVD was released on August 6, 2008, with the Region 2 DVD released on August 18, 2008;[30] followed by possible TV broadcasts.[31] The film is a time-travel adventure and is the second sequel toStargate SG-1, afterStargate: The Ark of Truth.
Stargate: Children of the Gods is a direct-to-DVD movie written byJonathan Glassner andBrad Wright and directed byMario Azzopardi.TheStargate SG-1 pilot episode was re-cut as a thirdStargate SG-1 direct-to-DVD special and released on July 21, 2009, byMGM Home Entertainment in16:9 widescreen format. A few months before its release, executive producer Brad Wright announced it would be enhanced with brand new visual effects and scenes not previously included in the television version. The beginning was to be slightly altered, a new scene added, and the nudity scene taken out to make this episode suitable for children, with the final movie roughly seven minutes shorter than the original episode.
Stargate Atlantis was a spin-off television series fromStargate SG-1. A new feature film was originally intended to transition the two series after the sixth season ofSG-1. Later,SG-1 was renewed for a seventh season, and the feature film was then planned to transition that season. Finally, whenSG-1 was renewed for an eighth season, the intended film instead became the two-partseason finale episode "Lost City", and the setting ofStargate Atlantis was moved to thePegasus galaxy.[32] This allowed the two shows to exist side-by-side within the samefictional universe, and later the two shows even become interconnected.Atlantis was developed by most of the same people and in the same studios asSG-1.
The series follows the adventures of the "Atlantis expedition", an international combination of military forces and civilian scientists who travel to thePegasus Galaxy in search of the Lost City ofAtlantis, built by the ancient race of beings who had built the Stargates. Throughout the five-year run the show mostly focused on the expedition fighting an alien species known as the Wraith, who are required to periodically feed on humans to survive and for thousands of years terrorised the humans of the galaxy, all while preventing their new foes from reaching the Milky Way.
Atlantis debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 16, 2004, starringJoe Flanigan andTorri Higginson in the lead roles, withRainbow Sun Francks,David Hewlett, andRachel Luttrell alongside. Hewlett and Higginson's characters had previously appeared inSG-1 (though Higginson inherited the role from actressJessica Steen). InAtlantis' second season,Paul McGillion andJason Momoa (replacing Francks) were added as regulars. At the end of the third season, Higginson and McGillion were removed as regulars, both serving recurring roles in the 4th season. Season 4 brought in Amanda Tapping, reprising her role as Samantha Carter from SG-1, andJewel Staite in a recurring role. Tapping left the show for Season 5 to concentrate onSanctuary, and was replaced byRobert Picardo, who reprised his role asRichard Woolsey from bothSG-1 andAtlantis. However, in late summer 2008, it was announced that SciFi would not renewAtlantis. The final episode aired on January 9, 2009.
Stargate Universe is the third live-actionStargate series, and premiered on October 2, 2009. The series was pitched to theSci Fi Channel in the fall of 2007, just before the writer's strike – which put a hold on the project. "The pitch was received very well," according to Stargate Atlantis co-creator Brad Wright. Sci Fi Channel orderedUniverse after announcing the cancellation ofStargate Atlantis. Syfy announced on December 16, 2010, that they would not pick the show up for a third season.[33] The final episode aired May 9, 2011.
The shows focuses on an expedition being stranded several billion light years from Earth on board an Ancient ship calledDestiny, which has been traveling through the universe uncrewed for millions of years. The show follows the crew as they struggle to survive on boardDestiny with no apparent way home. The show was intended to have a darker tone than its predecessors and delve more into the humanity of the characters and their relationships with each other.
In July 2017, a web series calledStargate Origins was announced at aSan Diego Comic-Con Panel celebrating the franchise's 20th anniversary. It focuses on the character of Catherine Langford and is a prequel both to the television continuity and to the original feature film. The shooting began in August 2017 and series premiered online at the Stargate Command website on February 15, 2018.[34][35][36]
The cast includesEllie Gall as the youngCatherine Langford,[37]Connor Trinneer as Catherine's father, Professor Paul Langford,[38]Aylam Orian as Dr. Wilhelm Brücke, a high-ranking Nazi officer,[39][38]Philip Alexander as Captain James Beal, British officer stationed in Egypt,[40] and Shvan Aladdin as Wasif, a native Egyptian and a lieutenant in the British army.[40]
Stargate Infinity is an American-Frenchanimated science fiction television series created by Eric Lewald and Michael Maliani as a spin-off from itssister show,Stargate SG-1. Thestory arc inInfinity is set 30 years into the future and followsGus Bonner and his team. Bonner's team was created after he was framed for a crime he did not commit. He escaped fromStargate Command (SGC) after the hostile alien race Tlak'kahn attacked the SGC to find the chrysalis. Together with his team he escapes through theStargate with the chrysalis. From that point forward they go from planet to planet until they find the evidence to clear their names while learning about the unique cultures in thegalaxy, so that they can one day return toEarth.[41] The story arc was never resolved because of low viewership ratings and the show was cancelled in 2003.
Stargate Infinity premiered in September 2002 as part of4Kids Entertainment'sFOX BOX Saturday morning line-up onFOX and went off the air in June 2003. Due to its lack of popularity the show is almost completely unrecognized. The series was cancelled before any of itsstory arcs could be resolved. The show was oflow budget, which was constantly noted by the media.[42][43]DIC Entertainment released a 4-episode DVD on October 7, 2003, in Region 1.MGM Home Entertainment released a five disc seasonbox set on August 13, 2007, in Region 2.[42]Shout! Factory, a company known for releasing cult animated series, acquired the rights to the show and released the entire series to DVD on May 13, 2008, in Region 1.[43] As of 2009[update], there is yet to come a release ofStargate Infinity package in Region 4, namely Oceania and Latin America.[44]
The writers and producers ofStargate SG-1,Stargate Atlantis andStargate Universe and the maincanon of theStargate franchise were not involved withInfinity, and neither MGM, the production teams nor the fans ofStargate considerInfinity to be an official part of theStargate universe. According toStargate SG-1 co-creatorBrad Wright, the animated series should not be considered officialStargatecanon. Commenting on it, he stated, "I don't have a problem with it. I'm just not involved."[45]
The currently untitled Amazon MGMStargate series was announced byAmazon MGM Studios in November 2025. The show is to be led by showrunnerMartin Gero, who is himself a franchise veteran having written for all three prior live-action series.[46] It was also announced thatBrad Wright, co-creator of the prior series', andJoe Mallozzi, long-time Executive Producer on the franchise, would also be returning in contributing producer roles while Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, who created the 1994 film, are Executive Producers.[47][48] While few details are currently known about the series' plot, it will not be a reboot of the property but will still look to be accessible to new viewers.[49][50]
Stargate took in $16.7 million on its opening weekend and $196.6 million overall,[51] and received mixed reactions from critics; while it was panned by some critics such asRoger Ebert,[52] several positive reviews counterbalanced this leading to a score of 46% onRotten Tomatoes.[53] Although the film was originally intended as the first of a trilogy,[54] Emmerich and Devlin ultimately moved on to produceIndependence Day, and it was not until 2006 that Devlin showed renewed interest in developing sequels.[55] In the intervening time, copyright-holderMGM succeeded the film with the television seriesStargate SG-1 without the input of Emmerich and Devlin.
Stargate SG-1 has won theSaturn Award forBest Syndicated Television Series on numerous occasions, and its cast has won similar awards for acting.[56] More recently, it received acclaim for itsvisual effects, which increased in quality and realism as the show gained a larger budget.[57] On August 21, 2006, theSci Fi Channel announced that it would not be renewingStargate SG-1 for an eleventh season after a series of poor performances in theNielsen ratings.[58] Many fans were enraged at the news, even creating websites in reaction to exhibit their commitment to the series.[59] Spokesmen for the production have said all options for the continuation ofSG-1 are being considered, including complete digital broadcasting.[60] Executive producerRobert C. Cooper told the fansiteGateWorld exclusively that he was working to continueSG-1.[61] Currently, no network or company has ordered new episodes ofSG-1, so the show is on hold until a new buyer can be found. However, SciFi has attempted to block other networks from taking up the show, citing its original exclusive contract with MGM.[62]Atlantis proved to be as successful asSG-1, with Nielsen ratings and viewership. TheStargate franchise in 2009 won a Constellation Award in the category of Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2008.[63]
The average viewership toStargate SG-1 andAtlantis was around ten million a week worldwide. According toStargate SG-1 andAtlantis co-creatorBrad Wright, the show is popular in Great Britain, Germany, France and Australia, but with a steadily declining viewership inhomeland Canada. About thirty millionStargate DVDs were sold worldwide by 2006.[64]
The DVD release ofStargate: The Ark of Truth in the US earned MGM/Fox $1.59 million in rentals in the first week after the release, and another $1.38 million in rentals in the second week. In its third week it earned US$1.19 million in rentals totaling $4.16 million. The DVD has also earned $9 million in sales.[7]Stargate: Continuum would go on to gross over $8 million United States dollars in the United States.[8] The film sparked mostly positive reviews with movie critics.[65][66][67] A thirdStargate SG-1 movie was planned to followContinuum, but the third movie was put on hold with any other future Stargate movies; the film would have centered around the character ofJack O'Neill.[68]
In 2010Stargate was estimated to have injected $1 billion in to theeconomy of British Columbia.[69]
There are three series of novels based on theStargate franchise, one based on the originalStargate film and two based in theStargate SG-1 andStargate Atlantis television shows. A series of books written byBill McCay, published from 1995 to 1999, were unofficial sequels to the film.[70]
From 1999 to 2001,ROC published four novels based inStargate SG-1 written byAshley McConnell.[71] In 2004, UK-basedFandemonium Press started a new series of licensed tie-in novels based onStargate SG-1. Due to the conflict with ROC's license, these books were available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK, but not in the US. Fandemonium books became available in the US in 2006. The officialStargate Magazine, produced by Titan Publishing, began publishing short stories written by Fandemonium authors in their 8th issue. The stories alternate betweenSG-1 andAtlantis.[72]
A series ofcomic books, based onStargate SG-1 andStargate Atlantis, began to be published byAvatar Press in 2003. Five have been published to date, with stories by James Anthony and artwork by Jorge Correa.[73] In February 2008, it was announced thatBig Finish Productions would release officially licensedaudiobooks featuring members of the cast reading new stories. The first two stories, available on CD and digital download, areGift of the Gods read byMichael Shanks andA Necessary Evil read byTorri Higginson.[74]
After Bill McCay had written aseries of five novels continuing the story the original creators had envisioned, and despite the success of theStargate television series, in 2006,Dean Devlin said: "He has struck a production deal with MGM and is developing the long-delayed sequel feature films that will pick up the story from the 1994 original."[54] According to Devlin, two movie sequels would have picked up the story from the 1994 original, but not the mythology of theSG-1 andAtlantis series, with the original stars Kurt Russell and James Spader. Devlin regretted giving MGM control over the franchise.[54] The first film already tapped into Egyptian mythology; the second one would have moved into other mythologies; and the third would have then tied all the mythologies together.[75] On July 4, 2011, Dean Devlin spoke out again saying he had not given up on the idea of sequels to his 1994 feature film. He talked about the idea again in a new interview with Collider. Devlin actually wrote it as a trilogy of movies, but was never able to do parts two and three. His hope was, as the series started to wind down, that perhaps it would be time to actually get to do parts two and three:
I think it'll change a little bit from our original idea since so many years have passed. ...We wanted to explore the idea of how the Stargates were built originally, and where else in the universe they exist, and why they exist – and where else they exist on Earth. We had really planned out, as a trilogy of films, to allow this mythology to grow bigger and bigger.[76]
However, Devlin toldEmpire in November 2016 that the plans to make a reboot of a potential new series were stalled.[77]
In September 2018, it was reported thatSG-1,Atlantis andUniverse showrunner Brad Wright had been approached byMGM about continuing the franchise.[78] The following year,SG-1 starsAmanda Tapping andRichard Dean Anderson further confirmed that they'd spoken to Wright and expressed their own interest in returning to the franchise in some capacity.[46] In January 2019, Wright elaborated that his conversations with MGM pertained to continuing the television franchise in a way that fully acknowledged prior shows.[79] In July 2020,SG-1,Atlantis andUniverse writer-producerJoseph Mallozzi teased Wright's project, commenting that "we've never been closer to a fourthStargate series." This continued in September 2020, when it was reported that whilst not currently involved in writing, Mallozzi had spoken to Wright about the development, confirming it to be a fourth television series which would continue on from whereSG-1,Atlantis andUniverse left off and include characters from those shows.[80][81]
On November 21, 2020, Brad Wright confirmed that he was developing a television series ofStargate with MGM and that it would be a continuation, not a reboot. He also confirmed that whilst things were progressing, theindustry shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic was slowing aspects of the development.[82][83] In a series of podcasts in March and May 2021, Wright continued to offer small updates on the project, including that his script features theSG-1 characters ofDaniel Jackson,Cameron Mitchell,Samantha Carter andJack O'Neill, with the hope thatMichael Shanks,Ben Browder andAmanda Tapping all return in some capacity to their respective roles.[84][85][86] Wright also expressed that if the series does go ahead, he would want Tapping to direct, with it being clarified by Tapping that the series was not in active production, but still being worked on by Wright.[87][88] In March 2022,Amazon completed a purchase ofMGM, its library, and assets, includingStargate. Around that time, writer and producer onStargate SG-1,Atlantis, andUniverse Joseph Mallozzi teased Wright's pilot script for the new project on social media.[89] However, in November 2022, Wright announced that his revival project was likely dead following Amazon's purchase.[90]
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