Amazon MGM Studios has turned to Jac Schaeffer, the writer-producer behind Marvel’s acclaimed WandaVision and Agatha All Along, to develop a new television series based on the long-running Stargate franchise. The project falls under Schaeffer’s three-year overall television deal with the studio, announced earlier this year, with a writers’ room expected to open in the near future—some reports indicate one has already begun in New York. Schaeffer will executive produce alongside Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell of Safehouse Pictures. Amazon and representatives for Schaeffer declined to comment.
The news, first reported by Variety on October 9, marks Amazon’s second attempt in under a year to revive the property for Prime Video. In November 2025 the studio ordered a series from Martin Gero, a writer and producer with credits on Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe, as well as the creator of Blindspot. Longtime franchise creative leaders Brad Wright and Joe Mallozzi were attached as consulting producers. That project advanced through a 20-week writers’ room and into pre-production in the United Kingdom before Amazon pulled the plug in early June 2026.
Studio executives reportedly grew concerned that Gero’s version, while respectful of existing canon and designed with a potential entry point for newcomers, would not attract viewers beyond the franchise’s dedicated core audience. The decision also coincided with broader leadership and programming shifts at Amazon MGM. Mallozzi described the cancellation as “heartbreaking,” noting that Gero had spent years crafting a series built on the elements that defined the earlier shows: action, exploration, found family, humor, and wonder. Wright similarly praised the work already completed, saying he wished the world could have seen it. A fan petition calling for Amazon to reverse course and proceed with Gero’s take has drawn roughly 125,000 signatures.
Schaeffer brings a different résumé. WandaVision, the first Marvel Cinematic Universe series on Disney+, earned widespread critical praise and 23 Primetime Emmy nominations for its inventive blend of superhero mythology and classic television formats. She followed it with the spin-off Agatha All Along and has additional credits that include story work on Black Widow. Harold and Tunnell, who were also attached to the earlier Gero project, add further genre experience from series such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Reaction among fans and alumni has been sharply divided. Some expressed frustration that Amazon sidelined the original creative voices who had shepherded the franchise for years, viewing the move as a rejection of a project that had already cleared significant developmental hurdles. Actor Michael Shanks, who portrayed Dr. Daniel Jackson across Stargate SG-1 and related films, responded to the Schaeffer announcement on X with the wry observation: “I wonder if the job comes with a blindfold and cigarette….?” Others have urged patience, arguing that a creator with Schaeffer’s track record of making dense lore accessible and character-driven could help expand the audience while still honoring the concept of interstellar exploration through the ancient ring-shaped portals.
No story details, casting announcements, or decisions about continuity with the 1994 feature film or the three prior television series (SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe) have been released. The last Stargate television entry, Stargate Universe, ended in 2011. Amazon acquired the underlying MGM library in 2022 and has since pursued revivals of several of its properties; Stargate remains one of the more prominent dormant science-fiction brands in the catalog.
Whether Schaeffer’s series ultimately broadens the franchise’s reach or alienates the existing base will depend on the creative choices that emerge once the writers’ room begins its work. For now, the Stargate is once again dialing, though the destination remains unclear.
