# Stargate
**Stargate** is a military science fiction franchise centered on an ancient ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole, enabling near-instantaneous travel to a matching device elsewhere in the universe. It began with the 1994 theatrical film *Stargate*, conceived by [Roland Emmerich](https://www.edgepedia.org/roland-emmerich) and [Dean Devlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-devlin) and released by [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-goldwyn-mayer) and Carolco, and grew through three live-action television series, an animated series, two direct-to-video films, a web series, and tie-in novels, comics, and games.[1](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate_franchise) • [2](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91289546-OPP-1.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | *Stargate* film, directed by Roland Emmerich and written with Dean Devlin, released October 28, 1994; grossed $196.6 million worldwide on a $55 million budget[3](https://savestargate.com/timeline) |
| Core premise | An ancient ring-shaped device creates a wormhole to a similar device elsewhere, allowing travel between distant points in space[2](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91289546-OPP-1.pdf) |
| Flagship series | *Stargate SG-1* (1997–2007), ten seasons and 214 episodes, briefly the longest-running North American science fiction show[1](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate_franchise) |
| Spin-offs | *Stargate Atlantis* (2004–2009, five seasons, 99 episodes) and *Stargate Universe* (2009–2011, two seasons, 40 episodes)[4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/amazons-new-stargate-show-raises-big-questions-for-the-beloved-sci-fi-universe) |
| Total canon episodes | 353 episodes across the three live-action series as of the *Stargate Universe* finale on May 9, 2011[1](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate_franchise) |
| Rights holder | MGM, acquired by Amazon in 2022; a new series from Martin Gero was announced in November 2025 and canceled in June 2026[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-shows/stargate-release-date-cast-plot-news/) |
## The 1994 film
The film that began the franchise was simply titled *Stargate*. The film revealed an alien ring apparatus buried under the Giza plateau that could carry people to other planets throughout the galaxy, with [Kurt Russell](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurt-russell) playing Col. Jack O'Neil, James Spader playing Dr. Daniel Jackson, and [Jaye Davidson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaye-davidson) playing Ra.[6](https://www.stargate-sg1-solutions.com/story/stargate-story.php) • [7](https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/classic-tv/behind-the-scenes-guide-to-the-stargate-franchise-sg1-to-atlantis) It opened at number one in the United States on October 28, 1994.[3](https://savestargate.com/timeline)
Emmerich and Devlin envisioned *Stargate* as a three-film series, but MGM chose to develop television spinoffs instead and excluded the original creators from *SG-1*'s production.[3](https://savestargate.com/timeline) Between 1995 and 1999, five novels by Bill McCay, developed partly from Emmerich's own notes, continued the film's story; Devlin has stated he considers them canonical.[3](https://savestargate.com/timeline)
## The television era
Three years after the film, the Canadian writers Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created *Stargate SG-1* as a sequel for the television screen.[1](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate_franchise) The series followed Stargate Command's soldiers and scientists, led by [Richard Dean Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-dean-anderson)'s Colonel Jack O'Neill, alongside [Michael Shanks](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-shanks) as Daniel Jackson, Amanda Tapping as [Samantha Carter](https://www.edgepedia.org/samantha-carter), and Christopher Judge as the alien warrior Teal'c, as they traveled to other worlds and faced the Egyptian-inspired Goa'uld, the Replicators, and the Ori.[8](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/the-10-best-sci-fi-tv-shows-of-the-1990s) It ran for ten seasons and 214 episodes and briefly held the record for the longest-running North American science fiction show.[1](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate_franchise) In 2019, *Popular Mechanics* ranked it the 14th best science fiction television show ever.[9](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-88255234-EXA-9.pdf)
**Stargate Atlantis.** In 2004, *SG-1*'s first spin-off series, *Stargate: Atlantis*, moved the action to another galaxy, where the city of Atlantis had been located. Wright and Robert C. Cooper created it, applying the lesson they drew from *SG-1*: building a universe in which multiple storylines could be born and grow.[1](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate_franchise) • [10](https://www.gateworld.net/news/2005/07/executive-decisions-part-1/) The series lasted five seasons and 99 episodes, ending with the ancient city splashing down in the [Pacific Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-ocean) off the California coast.[4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/amazons-new-stargate-show-raises-big-questions-for-the-beloved-sci-fi-universe)
**Stargate Universe.** The third live-action series, *Stargate Universe* (2009–2011), took a different approach, following the crew of the ship *Destiny* in serialized character drama in which survival, not exploration, becomes the mission.[4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/amazons-new-stargate-show-raises-big-questions-for-the-beloved-sci-fi-universe) It ran two seasons and 40 episodes; its finale on May 9, 2011 left the crew in stasis, and the franchise went dark on television for over a decade.[1](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate_franchise) • [4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/amazons-new-stargate-show-raises-big-questions-for-the-beloved-sci-fi-universe)
## Other screen and print media
The franchise also includes the direct-to-video films *Stargate: The Ark of Truth* and *Stargate: Continuum* (both 2008), the animated series *Stargate Infinity* (2002–2003), and the prequel web series *[Stargate Origins](https://www.edgepedia.org/stargate-origins)* (2018), along with video games, novels, comic books, magazines, and audiobooks.[2](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91289546-OPP-1.pdf) Planned film projects never reached the screen: in April 2011, Wright announced that the proposed *SG-1* film had been permanently shelved, along with planned *Atlantis* and *Universe* films and a crossover film combining all three series.[9](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-88255234-EXA-9.pdf)
## The gate device in the fiction
Within the stories, stargates are devices built by the Ancients, an ancient race whose technology creates wormholes for near-instantaneous transportation between two distant points in space. The gates are known by different names across the universe, including Astria Porta in the Ancient language and Chappa'ai in Goa'uld.[11](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate) The stargate found in [Antarctica](https://www.edgepedia.org/antarctica) on Earth has been estimated to be over 50 million years old, and the gates used in the *Destiny* mission of *Stargate Universe* are older still.[11](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate) A gate is designed to dial a single destination at a time, though the correlative update program can modify the dialing protocol to allow one gate to dial multiple gates in the network simultaneously.[12](https://rdanderson.com/stargate/lexicon/entries/stargate.htm)
## The Amazon era
After Amazon acquired MGM Studios in 2022, the company began developing new projects in the *Stargate* universe.[13](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/new-stargate-show-cancelled-at-amazon-mgm) In November 2025, Amazon announced a new series led by Martin Gero, a veteran of *SG-1*, *Atlantis*, and *Universe* who created *Blindspot*, with franchise figures Joseph Mallozzi and Brad Wright, original film creators Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, and producers Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell of Safehouse Pictures attached.[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-shows/stargate-release-date-cast-plot-news/) • [14](https://as.com/meristation/series/es-una-de-las-sagas-de-ciencia-ficcion-mas-populares-de-la-historia-y-confirma-su-regreso-en-amazon-prime-video-f202511-n/) Gero framed the project as a continuation rather than a reboot, saying the show was "not here to undo what came before."[13](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/new-stargate-show-cancelled-at-amazon-mgm)
The writers' room began on January 12, 2026, in Los Angeles, and filming was reportedly slated for late 2026, predominantly in London.[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-shows/stargate-release-date-cast-plot-news/) In June 2026, Amazon canceled the project. According to reporting citing Variety, executives were concerned that Gero's take would not appeal beyond the franchise's already dedicated fanbase; former showrunner Joseph Mallozzi publicly disagreed with the reported reason.[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-shows/stargate-release-date-cast-plot-news/) • [15](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/stargates-revival-just-got-canceled-producer-doesnt-agree-alleged-reason-why-joseph-mallozzi) No casting had been announced before the cancellation, and Gero remains under an overall deal at [Amazon MGM Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/amazon-mgm-studios) developing other projects.[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-shows/stargate-release-date-cast-plot-news/)
## Legacy
The franchise ran nearly 15 uninterrupted years of television across three live-action series, one animated spin-off, and a late-stage web series, totaling over 350 episodes.[16](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/list/every-stargate-tv-series-ranked-from-worst-to-best/) Academic commentary has read *SG-1* as a contemporaneous account of how digitality transformed western society in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the franchise's blend of military action, diplomacy, and mythology-based alien cultures has been credited with establishing a template that its spin-offs extended to other galaxies and to serialized survival drama.[17](https://research.aber.ac.uk/en/publications/gates-galaxies-and-globalisation-stargate-sg-1-and-science-fictio/) • [4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/amazons-new-stargate-show-raises-big-questions-for-the-beloved-sci-fi-universe)
## References
1. [Stargate franchise, SGCommand (Fandom)](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate_franchise)
2. [Stargate Franchise description, USPTO TTAB filing](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91289546-OPP-1.pdf)
3. [Stargate Timeline, #SaveStargate](https://savestargate.com/timeline)
4. [Amazon's new 'Stargate' show raises big questions for the beloved sci-fi universe, Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/amazons-new-stargate-show-raises-big-questions-for-the-beloved-sci-fi-universe)
5. [Stargate: Everything we know about Amazon's canceled Stargate series, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-shows/stargate-release-date-cast-plot-news/)
6. [The Stargate Story, Stargate SG-1 Solutions](https://www.stargate-sg1-solutions.com/story/stargate-story.php)
7. [Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the 'Stargate' Franchise, Woman's World](https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/classic-tv/behind-the-scenes-guide-to-the-stargate-franchise-sg1-to-atlantis)
8. [The 10 best sci-fi TV shows of the 1990s, Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/the-10-best-sci-fi-tv-shows-of-the-1990s)
9. [Stargate SG-1 history excerpt, USPTO TTAB filing](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-88255234-EXA-9.pdf)
10. [Executive Decisions (Part 1), interview with Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, GateWorld](https://www.gateworld.net/news/2005/07/executive-decisions-part-1/)
11. [Stargate, SGCommand (Fandom)](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Stargate)
12. [Stargate lexicon entry, Richard Dean Anderson Website](https://rdanderson.com/stargate/lexicon/entries/stargate.htm)
13. [New 'Stargate' show cancelled at Amazon MGM, Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/new-stargate-show-cancelled-at-amazon-mgm)
14. [Stargate regresa en Amazon Prime Video, AS.com](https://as.com/meristation/series/es-una-de-las-sagas-de-ciencia-ficcion-mas-populares-de-la-historia-y-confirma-su-regreso-en-amazon-prime-video-f202511-n/)
15. [Stargate's Revival Just Got Canceled, and a Producer Doesn't Agree with the Alleged Reason Why, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/stargates-revival-just-got-canceled-producer-doesnt-agree-alleged-reason-why-joseph-mallozzi)
16. [Every Stargate TV Series, Ranked From Worst to Best, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/list/every-stargate-tv-series-ranked-from-worst-to-best/)
17. [Val Nolan, "Gates, Galaxies, and Globalisation: Stargate SG-1 and Science Fiction in the Digital Age," Foundation (2020), Aberystwyth University](https://research.aber.ac.uk/en/publications/gates-galaxies-and-globalisation-stargate-sg-1-and-science-fictio/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Fictional worlds and series reference apparatus › Fictional universes, characters, and attribute reference › Stargate universe lore*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license