Christopher Judge Once Shared a Great Idea For a Teal’c STARGATE SG-1 Spinoff Series
One of the biggest reasons Stargate SG-1 endured for ten seasons wasn’t just the wormholes and alien tech. It was the team at the center of it all. Among them, Teal’c of Chulak stood tall as a powerhouse character.
Played by Christopher Judge, Teal’c wasn’t loud or flashy, but they way he played him carried weight. He was a warrior shaped by centuries of oppression who chose a different path, and fans latched onto that journey in a big way.
Teal’c’s arc is one of the most emotionally layered in the franchise. Once the First Prime of Apophis, he breaks free from the Goa’uld, turns his back on a lifetime of indoctrination, and joins Stargate Command.
Along the way, he loses friends, endures torture, and carries the burden of leading his people toward freedom. By the time Stargate SG-1 wraps up, the Jaffa are finally liberated, but the story doesn’t fully explore what happens next. That unanswered question is exactly what Judge wanted to tackle.
After Stargate SG-1 ended, Judge returned as Teal’c in a pair of episodes of Stargate Atlantis and in the direct to DVD films The Ark of Truth and Continuum. Outside the franchise, he became even more widely known as Kratos in the God of War video game series.
Still, Teal’c clearly never left his mind. While appearing on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast Inside of You, Judge talked openly about pitching a spin off centered on Teal’c and the newly freed Jaffa.
The timing, unfortunately, wasn’t ideal. The Stargate franchise had already slowed to a stop after Stargate Atlantis ended its five season run. Even during the later years of Stargate SG-1, the show dealt with shrinking budgets, reused locations, and cast changes, including the departure of Teryl Rothery.
Creators Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner kept things afloat through smart mythology and clever sci fi twists, but the universe eventually ran out of momentum.
That’s what makes Judge’s idea so fascinating. Instead of retreading old ground, his pitch pushed the franchise forward by focusing on consequences. As he explained:
"This spinoff was about what happened to Teal'c and his race of freedom because at the end of the show, they've gained their freedom, and they now have inherited all this technology from those that they served.
“So what do you do? [...] So two of the episodes I wrote were about the Amazonian mythology [...] So, I pitched Stargate's take on 'Black Panther.' So, we as this enslaved people now had our freedom, inherited this technology, and how we became this culturally and technologically advanced society.
“So, what burden comes with that? Do you help other people or do you keep it to yourself, right? And so three regimes loved it, and then we were bought by Amazon."
That concept fits perfectly with what Stargate always did best. The series thrived when it blended mythology, science fiction, and moral gray areas. Over the years, alternate timelines showed how a single decision could reshape destiny.
In one reality, where SG 1 never visited Chulak, Teal’c remained loyal to Apophis and even led an invasion of Earth. That darker version refused redemption and killed a major character in cold blood. Judge’s spinoff would have explored the opposite end of that spectrum, a future where freedom creates new and complicated problems.
The idea of the Jaffa inheriting Goa’uld technology raises some interesting questions. Power changes people. Responsibility doesn’t come with clear instructions. Do they become guardians, conquerors, or something entirely new? Watching Teal’c navigate that tension as both a warrior and a leader could have given the Stargate franchise a much needed evolution.
It’s unlikely this project will ever move forward, especially with the rights now under Amazon’s control. Still, for longtime fans, it’s hard not to imagine how incredible it would have been to see Teal’c step fully into that role.