When SciTrek first dropped the news in early 2022 that Brad Wright, the original show’s showrunner, would not be returning to any new Stargate project, we were all disappointed. We were after all losing the Captain of the ship, the man who steered Stargate into becoming the show we all loved. We started to wonder… is Stargate doomed without Brad Wright?
Once again SciTrek was first dropping news in the summer of 2022 that Amazon may have found a new showrunner but has the right person been found or have they found their own Alex Kurtzman?
Well first of all I want to ask a question. What do we want in a showrunner? For me the first thing is that he or she needs to be a fan of the franchise. They need to know Stargate and what it means to us. They need to be a fan! If they just bring in a manager, someone to make money, then Stargate will struggle if not fail all together. Getting this decision right really is vital. It is the foundation that everything will be built from and if they get it wrong then a Stargate return will only disappoint.
So when SciTrek first and exclusively revealed that Mark Fergus was the man Amazon were looking at to become showrunner for a new Stargate franchise we were initially excited. This was the man after all that had developed The Expanse with his team at Penguin in a Parka. Now the Expanse may be the most interesting sci-fi series of the last decade and fans of the show, I include myself in that, are obsessive about it. The show was not just stunningly well made but it was realistic and intense… Could the man that developed that show be the man to lead a triumphant return for Stargate?
Then we heard news thanks to Jenny Stiven on a live Dial the Gate video confirming that indeed Mark Fergus was talking to Amazon about doing a Stargate project but more than that… He had asked for it! According to Jenny during a meeting with Amazon executives Mark Fergus was asked what projects he would like to work on in the future when The Expanse came to an end, and his answer? Stargate.
So Mark Fergus and his team have the pedigree and the skill to make really exciting sci-fi. He wants the project and even asked for it. So far not looking too bad at all. But is he a fan? Does he know what Stargate is? Well it turns out that yes.
According to sources exclusive to the SciTrek Youtube channel a development meeting between Mark Fergus and teams from MGM and Amazon took place towards the end of last year. This meeting was to discuss the pitch meeting and share further thoughts. At this meeting a representative from the marketing team asked Mark Fergus about a survey that had been completed by a select number of Amazon customers earlier in the year.
The questionnaire asked customers if they watched Stargate and did they want a new show based on the franchise, interestingly though it also asked what they wanted from any new project. According to our source the lady speaking to Mark Fergus asked him about Stargate Universe. Apparently this had come up several times in the survey and they wanted to know what Mark thought about it. Now I strongly suspect no one in that room from marketing or the executive team had a clue what SGU even is but one person in the room that did was Mark Fergus. For the next 20 minutes or so Mark apparently talked about Stargate Universe and the disappointment he felt when it was cancelled, how he felt the show was just getting its legs and was becoming really interesting. Now that’s great, he watched the show, he had done his research right? Well according to the sources he did more than just show off his knowledge. He went on and on and on. He continued talking about the Planet Builders from season 2 of SGU.
A race that we know almost nothing about and only appeared in maybe 2 episodes of the show but mark remembered them. he talked about how they the most powerful race seen in the franchise, he mentioned how they may be even more powerful than the ascended ancients and how much he would loved to see where they were taking that storyline. This was not the rant of a man who had done his research but the genuine passion of a fan talking about a show he loved.
So I ask you… Is Mark Fergus the man we want to run the new franchise if Brad Wright is not returning?
I say a resounding YES!
What do you think?
