In late 2019 came the news that Universal’s streaming service Peacock was set to reboot the “Battlestar Galactica” franchise with “Mr. Robot” and “Homecoming” creator Sam Esmail at the helm.
Originally created in the 1970s where it ran for just a short period, the property is more well-known for Ronald D. Moore’s 2003 first reboot which scored much acclaim as one of the best sci-fi shows made.
At the time of the news, Esmail made it clear this will not be a remake of Moore’s show, rather it will “explore a new story within the mythology while staying true to the spirit of Battlestar.”
Speaking to Collider recently, Esmail was asked about the status of the project and he revealed things are still early in development:
“We’re still working on the pilot. Look, it’s a big universe, it’s a big world, I want to respect the Ronald Moore ‘Battlestar.’ I spoke to him before I even took on the project to make sure that it’s all kosher with him, because the last thing I want to do is step on his toes, and the one thing we both agreed on is that it won’t be a reboot of what he did. Which I think we both wanted.
It’s still in the early phases of trying to figure out the world via the pilot. I think we’ve got the basic construction of the type of story we want to tell, the part of mythology that we’re gonna explore – because ‘Battlestar’ does have a rich mythology and again I have to give Ron a lot of credit for that – and so now we’re sort of closing in on what that pilot’s gonna look like.”
In addition, Esmail indicates he’s very open to be flexible with the show’s release strategy and formatting, willing to experiment with dropping multiple episodes at once not just at the start but in the middle of a weekly run if needs be.
It’s an interesting strategy as while some series like “The Mandalorian” has benefitted from the weekly release schedule, others like “The Boys,” “The Expanse” and “WandaVision” have been criticised for taking that approach.
