Lisa Joy To Write Battlestar Galactica Movie; Francis Lawrence Circling To Direct

According to Deadline, Universal Pictures has hired Lisa Joy, the writer and executive producer of HBO's Westworld series, pen the latest script for their Battlestar Galactica movie. Deadline also reports that I Am Legend and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 director, Francis Lawrence, is "circling the movie to direct."

The last script was written by Jack Paglen (Transcendence), who was hired by the studio in April 2014. Universal has been working on a feature film adaptation of Glen A. Larson's science-fiction property since February 2009. At one point, the studio had enlisted X-Men movie director Bryan Singer to develop and direct the film, but as of 2014 Singer is no longer involved.

The original Battlestar Galactica aired on ABC from 1978 to 1979, and was largely an attempt to bring the sci-fi adventure of Star Wars to the small screen. The series spawned a 10-episode spinoff, titled Battlestar 1980.

Modern audiences will be more familiar with SyFy's Battlestar Galactica reboot. Helmed by Ronald D. Moore, Syfy's Battlestar was a more thoughtful series that explored political and religious themes in the wake of 9-11 attacks. The critically acclaimed series debuted with a late 2003 miniseries, and then ran for four seasons from 2004 to 2009. The reboot was followed by a prequel series, Caprica, which ran for a single season.

Jay Polidoro, Universal's Vice President of Production, is overseeing the project for the studio. Bluegrass Films partners Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark are producing with Michael De Luca through his Michael De Luca Productions.