Battlestar Galactica’s Reboot Just Took Another Step Backwards

Following the announcement of Sam Esmail’s attachment to Apple’s Metropolis series, the new Battlestar Galactica reboot just took another step backwards. Battlestar Galactica began airing in 2004 and was immediately met with critical acclaim, as viewers praised the acting, cinematic visuals, and political commentary. The series came to an end in 2009, after four seasons. In 2019, it was announced that NBCUniversal was planning a reboot of the series as part of their Peacock streaming service. The new series would be set in the same continuity as the 2004 show.

Sam Esmail is set to serve as executive producer of the series. Esmail is known as the showrunner and director of Mr. Robot. The series was praised for its experimental visuals and complex storytelling, something that carried over into Esmail’s subsequent project, Homecoming. Esmail’s creative involvement in the project was confirmed when he explained (via Collider) that he envisions a strange release schedule for Battlestar Galactica‘s episodes. The idea is to release the episodes in batches that are appropriate for the story, rather than releasing the entire season all at once or on a weekly basis.

However, with Apple giving Esmail’s Metropolis remake a series order, the showrunner may see his attention divided between projects. Michael Lesslie, who had previously written The Little Drummer Girl, was supposed to serve as showrunner on the new Battlestar Galactica series but left the project in 2021. While Sam Esmail has not stated that he’s leaving the reboot, most of his focus will presumably be placed on the new Metropolis miniseries, as he is directing and writing every single episode. It seems that Battlestar Galactica is losing a lot of talent.

On top of that, Peacock are also working on a Battlestar Galactica movie that will supposedly be linked to the series. Speaking with Collider, Invasion showrunner, Simon Kinberg, who is writing the movie, said, “In terms of the situation with Sam and the show, I can’t say too much about it other than there is synergy between the two enterprises and constant communication between us.” He goes on to add, “We’ve become close and been having a really good time together and there will be, for lack of a better phrase and it’s an overused phrase, a shared universe.“

While this synergy between the two projects may seem encouraging, the fact that Esmail is seemingly involved with both the series and the movie, on top of his commitments to the Metropolis series, is somewhat worrying. Kinberg himself has stated that the movie is a “megillah, humongous film and the prep will be a very long prep period,” so everyone involved will need to be fully focused on this particular project. Both Metropolis and Battlestar Galactica are sci-fi franchises of epic proportions, but Esmail has only worked on relatively low-budget series, more focused on the psychology of its characters rather than large-scale action set pieces. This Battlestar Galactica series may present more of a challenge for the acclaimed writer.

That being said, it seems that everyone involved, including Esmail and Kinberg, are extremely excited about the possibilities of this Battlestar Galactica reboot, so it’s likely they will do everything they can to produce quality content. However, good intentions don’t always result in great entertainment, and Esmail’s commitment to Apple’s Metropolis remake could be seen as a major setback for those who would’ve liked to see Esmail more involved with the Battlestar Galactica series.

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