A second reboot of 'Battlestar Galactica' is moving forward, with the announcement of its showrunner and some plot details.
The show originally debuted in 1978 as a cash-in on the excitement of 'Star Wars', with a sequel season in 1980 set in our time. Through the years, it maintained a cult following, however a gritty reimagining of the series in 2003, starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and Katee Sackhoff, became a critical hit.
Throughout its run, the 2003 reboot won the Peabody Award, several Emmys, the Saturn Award, the Hugo Award, and topped numerous best-of lists, including Time Magazine, the New York Times, and many more besides.
All of which leads you to wonder why they'd even try to top it. Anyway, Deadline is reporting that writer Michael Lesslie has been tapped to act as showrunner for the series, with 'Mr. Robot' creator Sam Esmail acting as executive producer on the show. Lesslie previously wrote the screenplay for the recent adaptation of 'Macbeth', starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.
Deadline also states that the new series will be a reimagined world, meaning it will not be a continuation of the 2003 reboot, but something new altogether. Again, have to wonder why they're doing that when they did it right with the first reboot.
This isn't the first time a reboot of 'Battlestar Galactica' has been in the works since the 2003 version. Bryan Singer was previously working on a feature adaptation that went nowhere. More recently, Francis Lawrence - director of 'The Hunger Games' and 'Constantine' - was in the running to direct a feature, with 'Westworld' co-showrunner Lisa Joy working on a script.
Whether or not that's still moving forward is undetermined, but given how this particular reboot is being made for NBC's streaming service, Peacock, odds are that this has a better chance of actually happening.
