'Stargate' reboot gets put on hold

A new feature film trilogy based on the hit 1994 film "Stargate" was announced by MGM and Warner Bros. in 2014, with the movie's original director and writer onboard.

Roland Emmerich, who directed and co-wrote the original film with Dean Devlin, was slated to direct, with Devlin producing. But now it appears production on the project has stalled.

The original "Stargate" film, starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, set opening box-office records and grossed almost $200 million worldwide. It also spawned many successful TV series spinoffs.

Devlin revealed on November 17 that plans for a "Stargate" remake have come to a halt.

"It looked good for a couple of months, but now it's not looking so good," Devlin told Empire magazine. "There are just a lot of things that have to fire at the same time, and there was a moment where I thought it was all firing at the same time, and then it all kind of fell apart."

Because the original "Stargate" film was produced independently, the movie's creators had more freedom than if a major studio was calling the shots.

"You'd have several studios involved and a lot of voices and you may make something great, but you also may have something that doesn't resemble what you wanted to do," Devlin said. "That kind of 'collaboration' is a terrifying aspect of the whole thing."

"If we did Stargate right, the fans would like it and we could do something really good," Devlin added. "But if we screw it up, they'll reject it. As they should. But I kind of don't want to do it if I think that we'll screw it up, and that's one of the things that's holding us back."

Here's hoping Devlin eventually gets his wish, and both MGM and Warner Bros. allow him along with Emmerich to make a new "Stargate" worthy of its fans.