MR. ROBOT Creator Sam Esmail Offers Optimistic Update on His BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Series
Several years ago it was announced that Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail was going to be developing a series reboot of Battlestar Galactica for NBC’s Peacock streaming service.
Michael Lesslie was hired as the lead writer and showrunner for the show, and he was previously the lead writer and showrunner of AMC’s spy drama The Little Drummer Girl. It’s been awhile since we had any update on the series, and I’ve been wondering if it was still happening or not, especially after a lot of projects fell apart and were scrapped during the writers’ strike.
Well, the series is still alive and in development! Esmail offered the following update in an interview with Deadline:
“Well, I can’t speak to the movie version, but for the TV series, we are working on it. And in fact, I just read a great outline and it’s in great shape. Because the strike is over now – at least the WGA strike is over – we’re back into developing it.”
Awesome! There’s still a lot we don’t know about the project, but there is a chance that this series might end up being set in the same universe as Ronald D. Moore’s version of the show, which ran from 2004 to 2009. Moore previously explained that he and Esmail discussed the upcoming show. During these conversations, Moore learned that instead of starting from scratch, Esmail planned on keeping his show in the same universe.
“Sam called me and was very gracious, he didn’t pitch me the story so I don’t know. But he said his plans and he wasn’t going to re-start the show and recast it but he wanted to do something in the same universe. Sam’s amazing and I love Mr. Robot. I was like, you know, ‘You’re an amazing guy and amazing writer, go with god!'”
I have no idea if this is the direction they are actually taking the show, but it would be pretty cool if they did. It would be pretty easy to for Esmail and the creative team to build a show in the same universe. As I previously explained, by the end of the series, it was revealed that the show was set in a cyclical universe, where the events that play out happen again every few thousand years. So, this next show could be set during a new cycle.
I’ve curious to see how this show comes together. I just hope that it ends up being a great well-made show.