Peacock pulls the plug on Sam Esmail's Battlestar Galactica reboot

In 2019, Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail announced that he was working on a reboot of Battlestar Galactica, the sci-fi series from the late 1970s about humanity struggling to survive after losing a brutal war with robots. Or maybe he was rebooting the early 2000s reboot of Battlestar Galactica, which revamped the story for modern audiences. Is it time to give the series yet another facelift, perhaps for the age of giant, big-budget genre series like Game of Thrones and Foundation?

Apparently not, because Variety reports that Peacock has turned down the chance to go forward with the rebooted reboot, which is now being shopped around to other studios. Might I suggest they hit up Apple TV+? Between Foundation, Silo, Severance, For All Mankind, Invasion and Time Bandits, they have an apparently bottomless appetite for all things sci-fi. Lots of nerds over there at Apple TV+.

In any case, it's a shame the show won't be going forward sooner. Esmail gained notoriety as the creator of the brainy hacker drama Mr. Robot, although he hasn't managed a big hit since then. The Battlestar reboot could have been that hit, but it may have been a victim of bad timing. Hollywood is still reeling from the writers and actors strikes of 2023, and studios are looking for ways to balance their budgets. In this environment, going forward with an expensive relaunch of a famous sci-fi series may have been one bridge too far for Peacock, which doesn't really have a reputation as the place for big genre projects. The Twisted Metal show, which is prepping for a second season, is probably the closest thing it has.

Should this show ever get made, Esmail wouldn't actually serve as showrunner; that duty would fall to Derek Simonds. But we probably don't need to think about the particulars right now. At the moment, I just hope the Battlestar Galactia remake can find a home. Again, call up Apple; you'll probably have a pilot order by the end of the meeting.

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