As you might remember, at one point both Guy Ritchie and Bryan Singer were chasing remakes of John Boorman‘s “Excalibur” over at Warner Bros, however during the summer, both projects were quietly killed by the studio. But speaking with SFX (via Punch Drunk Critics) Singer reveals that it was actually David Dobkin‘s recently announced, and much more prepared “Arthur & Lancelot” that stalled out “Excalibur,” and moreover, he’s returning to big sci-fi project he signed on for years ago, that we figured was on a distant backburner.
“Yeah, unfortunately [‘Exalibur’] is no longer going to happen,” Singer said. “I was really enthused to do it. I’m a fan of John Boorman’s movie and it was my intention to get it going after ‘Jack The Giant Killer‘ was completed. The project was with Warner Bros and what happened is that another King Arthur project was brought to them during that time. Basically, it was just more ready to go into production than ours was. That is why our version of ‘Excalibur’ ended up being negated. But, when that happened, it allowed me to go straight into developing ‘Battlestar Galactica‘ – which I think will be really exciting.”
So, let’s rewind a bit. Way back in 2001, Singer first expressed interest in the franchise, planning to direct the pilot of a new TV series with Tom DeSanto (“X-Men“) to executive produce. Unfortunately, that project never materialized, the but “Battlestar Galactica” did get revived as a mini-series in 2003, a new TV show which last four seasons starting in 2004 and of course, the recent spinoff “Caprica.” In the midst of all this, in 2009 Singer signed on to direct a new big screen version for Universal. That was pretty much the last we heard of it, and of course, Singer has since moved on to “Jack The Giant Killer” which he’s prepping to hit theaters next year. But based on this comments, it still seems “Battlestar Galactica” is alive, albeit in early stages, but with “Excalibur” now off the table it could very well be the next project Singer puts his teeth into (though he also signed on to direct a biopic of Bob Fosse for HBO though word on that has been quiet). And note fans: it will not be based on any of the current reboots, but go all the way back to the original series.
Also on the director’s plate is a new internet series “H Plus,” made up of six minute episodes which he has been working on and will be arriving soon. “Jack The Giant Killer” hits theaters on June 15, 2012 but this isn’t the last we’ll hear about “Battlestar Galactica” in the next little while.
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