Twenty years ago, one science fiction TV show pulled off something that should not have even been possible: to reimagine a wonky 1978 sci-fi series as an utterly new universe. That series was Battlestar Galactica, which began with a Sci-Fi Channel (not yet “SyFy”) miniseries at the end of 2003, and then from 2004 to 2009 became a critically acclaimed series not just within science fiction circles, but also a game changer for the entire television landscape. Before streaming was a thing, and before the word “reboot” was tossed around casually, Battlestar Galactica was the reboot that everybody binged, which sometimes required waiting for the Netflix DVDs to arrive in the mail.
And now, a reboot of that brilliant reboot is seemingly no longer happening. According to Variety, the previously announced “new” Battlestar Galactica reboot series is no longer being developed for Peacock. But the show’s demise is a long time coming: the series was originally announced in 2019 as part of the launch of Peacock, with Sam Esmail as showrunner, fresh from his success with Mr. Robot.
In a recent interview with Collider, the co-creator of the 2003-2009 Battlestar, Ronald D. Moore, said that Sam Esmail was “lovely” and had asked his blessing to do a remake, which Moore said he gave willingly, partly because the beloved 21st century BSG was already a remake of the Glen A. Larson show from 1978. But Moore also added in that interview: “In all modesty, we set a very high bar for what that show is.”
He’s not wrong. The fact that the Peacock BSG reboot is not going forward should cause most fans to breathe a sigh of relief. The 2003-2009 Battlestar has aged decently well, and the slow-burn attempts at a sequel, remake, or sideways reboot have always felt extremely unwanted, and totally unnecessary. Before rumblings about of the Esmail show were known, there was also a proposed movie version from Bryan Singer in 2009. By 2016, that Battlestar movie was being written by Lisa Joy and possibly directed by Francis Lawrence. As of 2020, a BSG movie was reportedly getting a script from Simon Kinberg.
But none of these things have happened. If anything, if fans of the show are looking for something that captures the storytelling style of Battlestar Galactica, they should probably just watch For All Mankind, partly because Ronald D. Moore is one of the masterminds, along with other BSG writers, specifically David Weddle and Bradley Thompson. It may not be a show about murder-robots and space dogfights, but some BSG lingo has carried over to For All Mankind, and much of the what-happens-next drama of the series is straight from BSG.
And more broadly, the legacy of Battlestar Galactica can be found in nearly every major sci-fi series worth its salt since 2009. The format of Star Trek: Discovery certainly owes a degree to the early plotting of BSG, while Terry Matalas openly admitted that Picard Season 3 was influenced by Ron Moore and Battlestar. And while the creators of Westworld might not admit it, the basic set-up of who-is-a-Host-and-who-isn’t very much felt like BSG’s constant question of which characters were secret Cylons. Even Andor’s cloak-and-dagger approach to space intrigue and social issues feels like a sideways sibling to the early aughts Battlestar.
Battlestar Galactica told us that “this has all happened before and it will happen again,” but because so many sci-fi shows owe their existence to this groundbreaking show, it seems like a formal reboot is just something nobody needs. The universe has not yet given us a BSG reboot (of a reboot) and maybe that’s a good thing.
