‘Battlestar Galactica’ Movie Still in the Works, Director Confirms

Battlestar Galactica fans still have something to look forward to as director Francis Lawrence has confirmed the film adaptation of the 1978 cult classic science fiction series is still in the works.

Lawrence is currently out promoting his spy thriller Red Sparrow, but in an interview with ComingSoon Lawrence confirmed that he is still working on the project and that he has a personal connection to the Battlestar Galactica franchise.

“Yeah, I’m working on that, that’s something I’m developing,” Lawrence said. “I’m working on that with Lisa Joy, who is one of the creators of Westworld. The original series was actually one of the first sets that I ever went on. I remember being a kid and loving that show and they were filming near my house and my mom took me down there and I got to try on a Cylon helmet.

Lawrence went on to say that while his take on Battlestar Galactica will be his own, there will definitely be visual references to the original series, and Ronald D. Moore’s early 2000s reboot as well.

“Oh of course!” Lawrence said. “There will definitely be visual nods. We’re all fans of both series so there will definitely be nods, but for it to be worth doing for us we have to have our own take on it. Without getting into too much detail, there is thematic kind of stuff to make it relevant today. What makes something interesting to do is if there’s a relevance to the world we live in now.”

Lawrence also acknowledges that for the film to be successful it has to be about more than Star Wars style space battles or the Cylons alone.

“I also think it has to be about more than the AI of it all, as well,” he said. “That’s an element, but I think we’ve found something else to say with it too, which I think is pretty cool.”

Bluegrass Films is producing the Battlestar Galactica movie, which will presumably present a completely new reboot of the series detached from any of the series that preceded it. The original Battlestar Galactica led to a spinoff series, Galactica: 1980, two years later. SyFy rebooted the series entirely in 2004. The reboot was successful enough to lead to a short-lived prequel, Caprica, in 2010 and a web series, Blood & Chrome, in 2012. The franchise has been quiet since then.