Francis Lawrence gives an update on the Battlestar Galactica movie

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Universal Pictures have been attempting to get a feature-film based on Battlestar Galactica off the ground for quite some time, but they haven't been having much luck. Last we heard, the studio was looking at Francis Lawrence (RED SPARROW) to helm the film with Lisa Joy (Westworld) penning the script, but there hasn't been much else revealed about the project. Coming Soon was able to chat with Francis Lawrence recently, and they asked him whether the Battlestar Galactica project was still something he was working on.

Yeah, I’m working on that, that’s something I’m developing. I’m working on that with Lisa Joy, who is one of the creators of “Westworld.” The original series was actually one of the first sets that I ever went on. I remember being a kid and loving that show and they were filming near my house and my mom took me down there and I got to try on a Cylon helmet.

Francis Lawrence added that he loves both the original series as well as Ron Moore's more recent reboot, but obviously his version of Battlestar Galactica will need to set its own tone, although there will be room for a few nods to both series. "There will definitely be visual nods. We’re all fans of both series so there will definitely be nods, but for it to be worth doing for us we have to have our own take on it," Lawrence said. "Without getting into too much detail, there is thematic kind of stuff to make it relevant today. What makes something interesting to do is if there’s a relevance to the world we live in now… I think we’ve found something else to say with it too, which I think is pretty cool." It would be fantastic to see the Battlestar Galactica franchise make the leap to the big-screen, and there's certainly room for another interpretation of the story, I just hope the project doesn't languish in development hell for another decade.

The official synopsis for Francis Lawrence's next, RED SPARROW, which stars Jennifer Lawrence:

Dominika Egorova is many things. A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs. A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit. A master of seductive and manipulative combat. When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.

RED SPARROW is set to hit theaters on March 2, 2018.