Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The Battlestar Galactica movie has a new writer (and maybe a director, too)

battlestar galactica movie writer director cast
Ever since Battlestar Galactica was rebooted back in 2004 and went on to become one of the most celebrated television sci-fi series of all time, Universal Pictures has been attempting to bring the series to the big screen. The studio’s efforts now appear to be making some headway, as the project has reportedly found a new screenwriter.

Lisa Joy, the writer, creator, and producer of the upcoming Westworld series for HBO, will pen a new screenplay for the Battlestar Galactica movie, which is expected to reboot the franchise once again.

Joy’s attachment to the film was first reported by EW, with the outlet also indicating that filmmaker Francis Lawrence — who directed the last three installments of The Hunger Games franchise — is circling the project as a potential director. Nothing official regarding Joy or Lawrence has been confirmed by the studio at this point, however.

Set in a far-flung future, the Battlestar Galactica series chronicles the experiences of the remnants of human civilization as they journey through the universe after being nearly wiped out in a war with a robot race known as the Cylons. Relegated to life aboard a fleet of spaceships led by the powerful warship Galactica, the surviving humans live under constant threat from the Cylons while trying to rebuild society among the stars and locate the mysterious planet called “Earth” that’s believed to be their last, best hope for a new home.

The original Battlestar Galactica series was created by Glen A. Larson and premiered in 1978. It was followed by the short-lived spinoff series Galactica: 1980. Years later, Ronald D. Moore and David Eick rebooted the series for SyFy, and the four-season saga that premiered as a television miniseries in 2003 went on to win a long list of prestigious honors, including a Peabody Award, the Television Critics Association’s Program of the Year Award, and a spot in Time’s list of the “100 Best TV Shows of All-Time.”

Previous attempts to bring Battlestar Galactica to the big screen have had X-Men franchise director Bryan Singer attached to the project, only to fall into development limbo over time. Transcendence screenwriter Jack Paglen penned one of the early drafts of the script for that film.

There’s no timeline at this point for the Battlestar Galactica movie to begin production.

Editors' Recommendations

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
The 10 best Simpsons episodes ever, ranked
The Simpsons on Disney+

For more than 30 years, The Simpsons has been a pillar of our collective cultural knowledge. Even if you've never seen an episode, you likely know at least one joke that came from the show originally. Because the show has been running for so long, though, it can be hard to home in on which episodes are essential, and which ones you can probably skip.

While there's plenty of greatness scattered across the show's entire run, these are the 10 best episodes of The Simpsons that you definitely shouldn't miss.
10. Treehouse of Horror V (season 6, episode 6)

Read more
Is Jennifer Lawrence returning to The Hunger Games franchise?
Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games.

In 2012, Jennifer Lawrence was already a star on the rise thanks to her Oscar-nominated turn in Winter's Bone and her starring role as Mystique in X-Men: First Class. However, Lawrence's career reached even greater heights when she was cast as Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. Lawrence reprised her role for three sequels, which adapted the remaining two novels in Collins' trilogy. Those films not only firmly established Lawrence as a box-office draw, but they also made her an icon in the Young Adult film genre.

Lawrence has since moved on from the franchise, and she earned an Oscar for Best Actress for her starring turn in Silver Linings Playbook. But despite leaving Katniss behind eight years ago, there is still interest in seeing Lawrence revisit one of her most famous roles. While promoting her latest film, No Hard Feelings, the question of a potential Hunger Games return was directly posed to Lawrence. And she gave a fairly definitive answer about her feelings for the character that helped make her a superstar.
Is Jennifer Lawrence returning to The Hunger Games franchise?

Read more
The best family movies on Amazon Prime Video right now
Megamind

It's a little easier to get the family together for movie night in the summer, but that doesn't mean you want to dillydally through streaming libraries and argue over what to watch. Family movie night is a happy time!

If you're an Amazon Prime Video family, you already know what a pain the Prime interface can be to navigate. Well, don't navigate it at all, because we've already searched the library for the best family movies and pulled them into this roundup. Read on for the best family movies on Amazon Prime right now.

Read more