It sounds like a Stargate reboot — or more of a revival, a continuation of the original — is now closer than ever to happening at Amazon, reportedly due to the exit of Jennifer Salke, who blocked its development and kept it from moving forward.
Salke’s Exit Tied to Bond, Rings of Power, and Stargate
Jennifer Salke recently stepped down as head of Amazon MGM Studios, though trade reports claim she was actually fired due to her handling of the James Bond franchise.
Her involvement in The Rings of Power, along with the major failure of Citadel, is also said to have contributed to her dismissal.
Now it’s claimed her handling of Stargate might have also added to the reason.
Amazon Bought MGM for Bond — But Got Stargate Too
Before we dive in, it’s worth pointing out that Amazon purchased MGM back in 2021, primarily for the rights to James Bond, which they only recently fully acquired — a move that reportedly led to Salke’s exit.
But MGM’s library includes a lot of other popular IPs, which Amazon highlighted in their official press release — and yep, Stargate was one of them.
So, how many of those have actually materialized? James Bond? Robocop? Tomb Raider? Stargate? Nada. All under Salke’s watch. Note: A recent report claims the Phoebe Waller-Bridge Tomb Raider series has been canceled — likely no coincidence following Salke’s departure.
Amazon Had the Perfect Stargate Setup — And Blew It
Now let me set this up for you:
Amazon bought the license to The Expanse and streamed the final three seasons starting in 2019. Mark Fergus is the creator behind the series. He also wrote Marvel’s first Iron Man. The Expanse ended in 2022.
Amazon bought MGM and with that the rights to Stargate.
Jennifer Salke’s boss, Mike Hopkins, the #2 at Amazon only behind Jeff Bezos, wanted new Stargate projects. It’s said he wanted to build a Stargate universe similar to the MCU.
Well, guess who is a huge Stargate fan and wanted to develop a new series? Mark Fergus of The Expanse.
Sounds like a match made in heaven, right?
Stargate killed by woke studio politics
So what happened?
According to YouTuber Tachyon Pulse, Jennifer Salke blocked the development of Stargate and put it on the back burner. Why? Because Salke wanted to focus on feminist projects with feminist creators developing them.
This lines up with what’s been reported about James Bond. Salke allegedly wanted to modernize the franchise, make Bond a woman, and push DEI-themed spinoffs — moves said to have led to her exit. She reportedly clashed with longtime Bond owner Barbara Broccoli, who even referred to Amazon as “f’n idiots.” When Jeff Bezos heard about the situation, he supposedly demanded a full buyout of Broccoli’s stake, costing Amazon over a billion dollars. Shortly after, it was announced that Salke had stepped down as head of Amazon Studios. It has been reported Bezos sent out a company-wide memo stating Bond will be British and male.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge was also reportedly taking a feminist approach to Tomb Raider, working alongside the writer of The Marvels — the MCU’s lowest-grossing movie to date. In interviews, they made a point of bringing up Lara Croft’s boob size and similar topics. Salke is said to have poured millions into the project, but Waller-Bridge allegedly delivered nothing. As a result, her Amazon deal has reportedly been downgraded, with no results from her time at the studio.
The YouTuber puts it:
So the truth is that because of Jen Salke’s agenda—because of her wanting to push female directors and creators to the forefront at MGM—it basically meant that Stargate was put on the back burner. And every opportunity she had, even though her boss was pushing for it, she took to push it back further. She actively blocked Stargate, and that has really annoyed fans and really put us off any future plans for the project.
What’s next for Stargate?
With Jennifer Salke now out at Amazon, hopes are high that a Stargate revival will finally move forward.
As noted by the YouTuber, Mark Fergus’ schedule appears to be open, so it’s expected that Mike Hopkins may push the project ahead. Fergus was reportedly developing a new Stargate series — not a movie — and with Salke gone, it now seems likely that MGM’s dormant properties will finally see the light of day.
The press release from back in 2021 specifically mentioned MGM’s: 12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, Creed, James Bond, Legally Blonde, Moonstruck, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, Thelma & Louise, Tomb Raider, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther, The Thomas Crown Affair, and many other icons.
