Written by: Mike Fleming.
Universal Pictures has set Bryan Singer to direct and produce a feature version of "Battlestar Galactica," confirming a report on the Hitfix website.
The development is something of a surprise because the most prevailing rumor had Singer flirting with the idea of returning to the X-Men series by taking the reins of "X-Men: First Class," which focuses on the younger mutant characters seen fleetingly at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz wrote the first draft of that script.
"Battlestar Galactica" appears to be on a fast track and sources said that Singer could be looking at a $10 million paycheck to sign on to the film.
Singer has long been intrigued with "Battlestar Galactica" and flirted with relaunching it into a TV series right after he directed the original "X-Men." Back in 2001 I wrote about his plan, which involved teaming with Tom DeSanto to exec produce the series. Singer planned to direct the pilot of the new version of a series that originally launched on ABC in 1978 and ran two seasons. Here is what he said at the time, comments that certainly proved prescient:
"The lesson I learned on `X-Men' is to have a healthy respect for the fan base of sci-fi fantasy franchises, and I'm confident that the `Galactica' brand is a sleeping giant. It was a show I watched during its initial run, from the pilot to the final episode. The essence and the brand name is quite potent in a climate where there's a great deficit of scifi programming."
It is possible that the timing of the series went awry because of the World Trade Center disaster that occurred later that year. Certainly, it made a series that launched with the attack and destruction of earth unpalatable.
The director got busy on other projects. Ronald Moore came on as executive producer and oversaw the 73-episode series relaunch, which had a critically acclaimed run on Syfy.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Moore would be invited to write the screenplay, but it is clear that Singer will put his own creative stamp on the project as the studio indicates that the film will be "a complete re-imagination."
Glen Larson is aboard to produce. Singer's repped by WME and attorney Dave Feldman.
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