06/11/17 @ 8:47 pm EST

Source: Hollywood Reporter | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

The cast of Battlestar Galactica reunited Saturday at closing night of the ATX Television Festival and while it marked the first official reunion, those behind the Syfy drama revealed they've kept in close contact since the series went off the air eight years ago.

"It is profoundly different than I think what happens to a lot of casts when it's time to run away from each other," Mary McDonnell told the crowd.

Battlestar was developed as a reimagining of the 1978 series of the same name and originally premiered as a miniseries on Syfy in 2003. The following year, the project returned as a full-fledged series and ran for four seasons, wrapping in 2009. Over its run, the drama quickly became a critical darling, and went onto win Peabody and Television Critics Association awards.

Looking back on the original miniseries, showrunner Ronald D. Moore recalled watching every episode but said "it didn't light the fire in me," despite his love of other sci-fi projects in the '70s like Star Trek and Star Wars.

When he got a call in early 2002 about potential coming onboard the reboot, Moore was hesitant after logging 10 years on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. "I wasn’t sure if I want to go back into space again," he said. However, Moore thought it over and rented the original tape from Blockbuster.

"It had completely different resonance," Moore said of watching the original in a post-9/11 world. "I just sort of immediately thought if you did that show now, it was an opportunity to talk about the thing that were happening in the world." He then took the job.

When asked how Battlestar would be different if it launched in present-day, Moore said the show "would take advantage of the current political situation," he said, but added, "It's hard to imagine doing it today if it was just from zero."

However, McDonnell pointed out the current administration was made some of Battlestar's key themes even more relevant."We're living in a time where the powers that be are trying to create as much difference between us as their pockets books will allow. With Battlestar, we have a reminder that it could go away," McDonnell said. "We're unfortunately living on the edge at the moment of the planet. Perhaps we can stop dividing each other and seeing each other as the other."

Moore and stars including McDonnell, Edward James Olmos, Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, James Callis and Michael Trucco reflected on their auditions, Olmos' big speech to the cast and what Moore calls "one of the stupidest things" the writers ever wrote into the show. Read on for more highlights from the show:

Olmos Initially Said No

When he was offered the role, "I said no at the beginning. I said, 'Thank you very much but I'm working,'" he said. But his agent urged him to read the script anyway. "And then I read it, and I immediately said, 'I want to be with them. Let's do this.'

The Female President

Mary McDonnell never saw the original Battlestar. "I didn't have a television. I didn't know anything about it. I didn’t understand. It was presented to me as you have the opportunity to do the reboot or the reinventing of Battlestar Galactica. I just giggled," she said. However, when she the script, "I was attracted to these people in the first readthrough." McDonnell also found the script extremely prescient to the current times, particularly playing a female president. "We were shooting this when Hillary [Clinton] was running [for the Senate] and it became a very timely event for me," McDonnell said. "We started it not too long after September 11th so there was a strong emotional connection for me as well."

A Female Starbuck?

Moore said one of his first ideas was to change Starbuck from a male character to e a female. "This was a moment in time when we ere just starting to see women in combat, female combat pilots for the first time," he said. "I really didn't think it would be a thing," he said. However, it quickly drew ire from fans. "I was surprised and sort of like really? People are getting upset about this?" he said. "It seemed like the dumbest thing in the world. It was just kind of baffling." However, Moore quickly learned to embrace it. "Yell about it, get angry," he recalled thinking. "I need publicity."Sackhoff recalled being told she was "too girly" for the part. "I was told so many times that I was not right for this part. There's a piece of you that goes, 'Oh my God, I'm not right for this part.'" She subsequently had to audition six or seven times. "I cut my hair in the process. I took off my stiletos and eventually, I got the part," she recalled. When she learned about the controversy surrounding her character in a chat room at an Internet café, "I thought, f– 'em,'" she said.

The Other Starbuck

Park recalled it was down to her and Sackhoff for the role Starbucks. "When I was told I got Boomer, I was pissed," Park said with a laugh. "I was like, 'Who the 'eff is Boomer?'" Subsequently, it took part a while to figure out her character was a Cylon. "I just hadn't realized because I wasn't reading for that and I probably wasn't picking up on the clues," she said.

A First Day Kiss

Helfer had been acting professionally for about a year when she got the gig, and recalled the nerves she had the first day on the set, particularly when it came to shooting a steamy scene with Callis. "He was getting nervous. I was getting nervous We were both sweating," she said. "I finally said, "James, there's a basement, let's go downstairs.'"One thing led to another and "I just planted a kiss on him," Helfer said. "Genuinely it was a really good move because we were both really self-conscious," Callis said. "It’s a thing about trust and I think that was what helped us and helped us establish that relationship."

Another Apollo?

Trucco remember auditioning for the role of Apollo originally. "Rumor has it that I got initially, initially not very close at all," he said with a laugh. "I wrote in my journal, 'This is the greatest television show ever made.'" In season two, he came onboard for what was originally supposed to be two-episode arc. "Something incredible happened: The majority of the people f—ing hated my character and I think that fueled Ron," Trucco said. Interjected Moore: "He's coming back now." Trucco also remembered the early days of internet chat rooms, saying "People said horrible things."

The Admiral's Speech

When shooting the miniseries that led then to the series, Callis recalled the speech Olmos gave to the entire cast in which he foreshadowed the show's success. "The show's going to go for five years. Every episode is going to be like a movie. Keep your powder dry. We're in here for the long haul. You are not to make fun of this," Callis said Olmos told the cast. "Nobody needs to take this as seriously as we do." Looking back, Callis called it a "galvanizing" moment. "At the time, you don't realize how important something like that is."

Six's Big Moment in the First Episode

Helfer's Six killed a baby in first episode, specifically by cracking its neck. "The network didn’t want it in there," Helfer said, but said she believed the moment added "depth" to her character. "To me, that was a very integral moment of showing that this other side, you're very quickly going to learn that this the other side, this the evil side, has some sort of empathy."However, because of that moment, Helfer's sister never watched the series because she had given birth shortly before. "It was just a hard thing, the crack sound," she recalled.

The Evolution of 'Frak'

While muttered once on the original series, it became a popular (and frequent) part of reboot. "I just said this a brilliant opportunity to say f– over and over again," Moore said. "This is just a license to kill so I'm just going to do it over and over."

The Big Debates Behind the Scenes

Moore remembered, "when I pitched it, I could have done anything. They really don't care. You can do whatever you want with this, was the attitude." However, that changed once the series was in full swing. ""All the big ticket items we never fought about," Moore said. "We fought about stupid things. We fought about how much blood you're going to show, how many pilots you're going to kill. … Is it too dark? Is it too depressing?"Another concern from the network was the show's serialized nature which is why many of the show's early hours are standalone episodes. "Serialized TV was really unusual and frowned upon and networks didn't like it," Moore said. "The network was terrified that people would watch them out of order."

Starbuck's Death (Kind of)

When asked about her favorite moment, Sackhoff recalled getting the call from Moore and David Eicks that her character was going to get killed but then brought back. "'We're going to kill you but we're going to bring you back so don't worry,'" she said. "So I went to Mexico for a couple episodes but the problem was I was lying to everyone."Moore interjected: "This is one of the stupidest things David and I did in the entire run of the show." Sackhoff eventually told Olmos, who then told the entire cast at a magazine shoot she wasn't really dead, "and I felt like such an asshole."Meanwhile, Moore recalled "We're getting calls in Los Angeles saying they're really upset. You don't understand. People are really freaking out that you're killing [her]," Moore said, particularly Olmos. "Eddy is walking around saying this is death of the show. … It just spiraled completely out of control." (Via THR)

06/06/26 @ 2:40 pm EST

Source: Original Report on Nexus Point News | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

DC Studios and their co-head James Gunn have talked about a lot of potential series and films with some of them being mentioned and then sort of forgotten about. One of those seemed to be Paradise Lost, a Wonder Woman prequel series showing life on Themyscira before the birth of Diana. Though after its initial mention, the project hadn’t been talked about in a while and someone asked Gunn its fate. Gunn insisted the project was still in the works and now we are seeing some possible confirmation. Back in 2024, two names were attached as writers on the series Kira Snyder and Janet Lin and now, according to the WGA website, both are set to work on Paradise Lost for 2027-2028. Snyder is known for writing and producing on The Handmaid’s Tale and The 100 while Lin has credits on Bridgerton, Cursed, and Bones. There has been talks recently about trying to fast track a new Wonder Woman film and while there is no confirmation, rumors persist that the character may debut in Man of Tomorrow, so seeing Paradise Lost finally moving forward would make a lot of sense. 

05/30/26 @ 2:41 pm EST

Source: Forbes | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

Sony’s new Spider-Noir series has out done the MCU when it comes to fans. According to Forbes, the new Nicholas Cage lead series with him playing a 1930s variant of Spider-Man has garnered the highest audience score of all Marvel related television projects on Rotten Tomatoes. In the new series, Cage plays detective Ben Reilly who used to be the web-swinging hero called The Spider but hung up his mask after the death of his fiancée. Audience have really taken to the series that is available in both color and B&W, giving it a 93% (a point higher than when Forbes did their article) and even scored well with the critics at 92%. While the critic score is impressive, other Marvel projects have done better such as X-Men ’97 with a 99% score and Ms. Marvel with a 98% among critics. But on the audience side, 93% is tops beating out shows like Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil (Netflix) and WandaVision. While there has been no word on a second season, it would be hard for Amazon and Sony to ignore results like this. 

05/30/26 @ 2:08 pm EST

Source: Threads | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios and writer/director of the upcoming Man of Tomorrow film, was back on social media this week answering questions and one in particular stood out. A Threads user named “boyturizmo” asked, “Will we ever see General Zod, Doomsday, Dr. Fate, Black Adam, Ultraman (with his Crime Syndicate) or Darkseid?” Gunn replied, “Two of them in not too long…” This of course led to a ton of speculation on which two and where? Now the obvious one is Darkseid, and while Gunn has said his DCU isn’t building toward a big Thanos like battle with Darkseid, the character is going to be appearing in the upcoming animated series Mr. Miracle. The series is in production with comic writer Tom King onboard as the showrunner and he recently showed off a clip to interviewer Brandon Davis, who did not share what he saw. Mr. Miracle is an escape artist raised on Darkseid’s planet Apokolips who falls in love with a warrior woman named Big Barda and they escape to Earth. Though no casting has been announced for the series, Gunn has stated that the animated series are cannon to the DCU and actors cast in the animated shows, like Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., would carry over into live action like Grillo did in both Peacemaker and Superman.   As for the second character we will see soon, it is possible that Gunn could bring back more characters from the DCEU and have Dwayne Johnson return as Black Adam or Pierce Brosnan don the helmet of Dr Fate once more. And Ultraman could return from the black hole he was sucked into… but I think the most likely possibility will be in flashbacks to Krypton, possibly in Supergirl, where we could see General Zod cameo in a scene with Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Zor-El (David Krumholtz) discussing the fate of the planet and how to handle it. This would be a great scene for world-building… though part of me really wants Brosnan back as Fate.  ...

05/24/26 @ 1:45 pm EST

Source: Deadline | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

With The Batman Part 2 going into early production, fans are eager for news, information and confirmations and we may just have one thanks to one of the newcomers to the franchise, Sebastian Stan. It’s been rumored for months that the actor who has played everything from Bucky Barnes to Donald Trump to Tommy Lee was moving to Gotham in the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent aka coin-flipping villain Two-Face, and while his casting was confirmed by director Matt Reeves a few days back, we have not had an official announcement on the part he will be playing. While speaking to Deadline about his film Fjord, Stan spoke a bit about his summer plans which include a trip to London to work with Reeves where he says he will be playing “many roles in this one”. The article states that he’s talking about the role of Dent and how the character transforms from D.A. to villain when acid is thrown in his face by mobster Salvadore Maroni. Stan goes on to say, ”I’m excited, I’m nervous and trying to keep surprising myself.” He also he has been working with hair and make-up already trying to figure out how his disfigurement will look. Stan doesn’t come out and say in the quotes that he’s playing Two-Face, but Deadline strongly implies it and are one of the sites that had been reporting that he had been cast in the role early on. The Batman Epic Crime Saga, as Reeves calls it, does have one hitch to overcome. During The Penguin series on HBO Max, Maroni was played by Clancy Brown and does not make it through the series. So, either the attack on Dent takes place prior to the events we’ve already seen portrayed or Reeves is going to change up who throws the acid. Not a huge problem but it will be interesting to see how the moment will be handled if we end up seeing it at all. The Batman Part 2 is beginning to film and is on track for an October 2027 release.  ...

05/16/26 @ 2:01 pm EST

Source: Twitter | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

Winter is coming to Gotham and Matt Reeves is heating up the internet with his social media posts. He started it off with a couple camera tests showing the Batmobile in the snow, letting us know that production had begun on the long-awaited sequel. Then he began letting fans know the cast for the upcoming The Batman Part II starting with a gif of Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader with the quote, “We meet again, my friend.” This led into a series of posts that welcomed back the Dark Knight’s to main allies, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon. Then we got the two sides of the city fighting for control represented by Jayme Lawson as newly elected Mayor Bella Real and Colin Farrell as crime boss Oz Cobb aka The Penguin. Then he welcomed back the true hero of the film, Gil Perez-Abraham as Officer Martinez. Martinez is the representation of how the GCPD views The Batman as he appears multiple times in the first film, each time becoming more comfortable with working with the vigilante. Reeves would return to posting the next day and introduce the new characters to the film, but through gifs from their previous projects and not officially naming characters. This would include three MCU veterans starting with Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan. Then Game of Thrones patriarch Charles Dance, from A Good Day to Die Hard, Sebastian Koch and from Atlanta and the Eternals, Bryan Tyree Henry. Stan has been heavily linked to the role of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face with Dance likely playing his father Christopher. Johansson is believed to be playing Dent’s wife Gilda but that has never been confirmed and there had been no rumors at all about Koch and Henry, though Koch’s management posted a tweet about him helping rid Gotham of evil. Many on-line are speculating that Henry could be playing Detective Harvey Bullock. What is interesting are the names not mentioned in posts such as Con O’Neil as Chief Mackenzie Bock, Barry Keoghan as the Joker and Paul Dano as the Riddler. I wouldn’t assume that not being mentioned doesn’t mean they don’t show up in the film, just that the character may not have a lot of screen time. The assumption is that the film will focus on Dent working with Gordon and Batman to clean up Gotham, so there will be lots of room for other characters in this film. The film has started production and is on track to premiere in October of 2027.  ...

05/09/26 @ 3:03 pm EST

Source: Threads | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

We are in the age of Matthew Lillard and everyone except Quentin Tarantino seems to be happy about it. The Scream and Scooby-Doo actor has been having a bit of a resurgence lately coming shortly after Tarantino made some disparaging comments about the actor with no provocation. Many in the industry stood up for Lillard and now the actor seems to be popping up everywhere including the latest Scream film, the second season of Cross and the second season of Daredevil: Born Again. The latest news reported by multiple sites has the actor joining the cast of Man of Tomorrow, the next DC Studios film written and directed by James Gunn. Gunn, who is good friends with Lillard and has worked with him previously on both Scooby-Doo movies, posted the below image of the pair together, commenting on the news reports as “pure speculation” and saying that they are just “casually hanging out”. Most took the posts to be sarcasm and assume that Lillard is now in the film as that is where Gunn is right now, filming the project. Fans on-line have begun even more speculation as to who Lillard could be playing including various heroes and characters with the most notable being Jim Gordon from Gotham and Plastic Man, a character that Gunn and Lillard once tried to pitch as a project to DC/Warner Bros. It’s my belief that he will be a more Superman centric character such as STAR Labs Professor Emil Hamilton or police detective Dan Turpin. But that also would be pure speculation. 

05/09/26 @ 2:44 pm EST

Source: Twitter | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

Fans of Matt Reeves’ film The Batman got excited this week because of driving in the snow. The director posted images to his social media showing test footage of the Batmobile driving in winter conditions, which were the first signs that the long-awaited sequel had begun production. Though it has been postponed many times, it is set to be released in October of 2027 and will make the first time live-action Batman and Superman films will be released in the same year. The cold weather setting has long been assumed for the film based on the timeline created in both the first movie starting on Halloween and ending on Election Day and then The Penguin series on HBO Max which took place over a week or so immediately after the flooding of Gotham. The new film will pick up right after the award-winning series which places the time frame squarely in December. The plot for the film is still under wraps, but along with returning stars Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan and Jeffrey Wright, the project has reportedly added Scarlett Johannson, Sebastian Stan and Charles Dance. Stan is reported to be playing Gotham DA Harvey Dent aka Two-Face while Dance is said to be his father, Christopher. These castings have been reported by multiple reputable outlets but not confirmed by DC Studios or Reeves. With production having begun, the film is on track to keep its release date of October 2027. 

05/02/26 @ 1:59 pm EST

Source: Threads | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios, has addressed the strange “partial reboot” of the DCEU and why he didn’t just start completely fresh. With the new DCU starting with the animated Creature Commandos series and the new Superman movie, certain elements from the previous regime carried over like Viola Davis as Amanda Waller and there were some questions about more recent projects like Gunn’s own The Suicide Squad and Blue Beetle. And Gunn’s first DC movie also had elements from previous films including Margot Robbie as Harley Qiunn. So why not just start over? Turns out a lot of it has to do with the John Cena lead Peacemaker series on HBO Max. According to a social media post by Gunn, “Peacemaker Season 2 deals were all in place when I became head of DC. It was either break everyone's contracts and pay out all that money and take away HBO Max's biggest show at the time or find a way to make it work. I chose the latter. Mostly tho because I love the character and the show and thought he/they could be an important part of the DCU.”   Now, this has left quite a mess trying to figure out what is and isn’t cannon, and Gunn realizes this. He posted, “I've been thinking about this a lot in regards to The Suicide Squad & Blue Beetle and I've been meaning to rewatch both with an eye towards that knowing what I know now almost three years into the DCU (with a couple more years of scripts being actively filmed or created). Maybe after MoT Jenn & Steve & I can get together for a special couple podcasts to discuss. What do you guys think is potentially or definitely NOT canon from TSS & BB?” He is referring to Jennifer Holland, his wife and actress who plays Harcourt and Steve Agee who plays Economos. The three of them did the post-episode podcasts for Peacemaker season two.   Doing The Suicide Squad film makes sense with its ties to Peacemaker, but the reason for the Blue Beetle is that there are talks of an animated Blue Beetle series based on the 2023 film with Xolo Maridueña continuing in the role of Jaime Reyes. The fact it’s included here confirms the animated series is still happening.  ...

04/18/26 @ 12:44 pm EST

Source: Deadline | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

David Harbour is heading into the jungle. The actor has joined the cast of John Rambo, an upcoming origin-story film set before the events of First Blood. Harbour will portray Major (also known in earlier films as Colonel) Sam Trautman, the tough-minded commander and mentor figure long associated with the franchise. The film stars Noah Centineo as a younger John Rambo and is directed by Jalmari Helander (Sisu) from a screenplay by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani. The project is expected to explore the experiences that forged Rambo into one of action cinema’s most enduring figures—years before he returned home to the confrontation that launched the original 1982 film. John Rambo is backed by Lionsgate and Millennium Media, with Templeton Media and AGBO also involved, and has reportedly wrapped production in Thailand. Additional cast members include Yao, Jason Tobin, Quincy Isaiah, Jefferson White, and Tayme Thapthimthong. Sylvester Stallone—who originated the role across five films—is attached as an executive producer, alongside Anthony and Joe Russo and other producers tied to the project. 

04/18/26 @ 12:24 pm EST

Source: Deadline | Categories: Battlestar Galactica

Deadline is reporting that Game of Thrones actor Charles Dance will be joining the cast of the upcoming The Batman Part 2, which is set to start filming in the next few weeks. While this is unconfirmed by DC Studios, Dance is believed to be playing Charles Dent, the father of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face played by fellow newcome to the franchise, Sebastian Stan. There had been many reports over the last few months of other actors turning down the role of the elder Dent which is believed to have some parallels with the role Dance is best known for, Tywin Lannister. He joins a cast that also returns Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell and that has added Scarlett Johansson in an undisclosed part. Prior to joining the Matt Reeves’ sequel, Dance appeared recently in Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein and the Peacock series Day of the Jackal.