Yesterday we reported on rumours that Bryan Singer was about to sign on the dotted line to direct a big-screen reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Well, those rumours have now been confirmed with Variety reporting that Singer has officially agreed to direct and produce the movie, which is being guided to the screen by producer Glen Larson (who created the original 1970s Battlestar Series, as well as Knight Rider, Magnum P.I. and Quincy ME, among others).
Universal, the studio behind the project, is selling this new screen version as a “complete reimagining”, which won’t de tied to either the original series or the much-praised recent small-screen version. As we said yesterday, it’s not Singer’s first flirtation with the Battlestar universe, as he was nearing production on a pilot for new Galactica TV series when the 2001 terrorist attacks saw the whole thing get shelved.
It’ll be interesting to see how they manage to reboot the series for the big screen, as while the new TV series has ended, a prequel spin-off, Caprica, is due to start airing soon, while a straight-to-DVD Battlestar movie, The Plan, featuring the cast from the recent television version, is due out later this year.
Can they really have two completely separate Battlestar universe co-existing, one on the big screen and one on the small?