Michael Lesslie to Helm the New Battlestar Galactica TV Series
AVClub reports that NBCUniversal hired Michael Lesslie as showrunner for its new Battlestar Galactica TV show. Additionally, he will also write the scripts. Lesslie’s previous screenwriting credits include movies like Assassin’s Creed and Macbeth as well as the spy miniseries The Little Drummer Girl. According to the article, the new Battlestar Galactica won’t be a reboot. Instead, Lesslie will mine the rich mythology of the show’s universe to craft a new story.
Battlestar Galactica was created by Glen A. Larson, producer of shows like Magnum, P.I., Knight Rider, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The series told a story about a group of refugees fleeing through space in Battlestar Galactica, searching for a new home while being pursued by the Cylons. While the show was canceled after a single season due to low ratings, it was popular enough to get two theatrical movies as well as a TV spinoff Galactica 1980. In 2003 Ronald D. Moore created the critically-acclaimed remake of Battlestar Galactica for Sci-Fi channel.
New Battlestar Galactica series was first announced last year with Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot, Homecoming) as its producer. The show will air on NBCUniversal’s forthcoming streaming service Peacock.
The Right Stuff TV Series Coming to Disney+
This week, Disney+ announced a TV miniseries based on The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe’s non-fiction account of the early years of the US space program. His book chronicles the efforts of the newly established NASA to pick the first astronauts and form the team dubbed The Mercury Seven. Produced by National Geographic, this limited scripted series will feature Patrick J. Adams (Suits), James Lafferty (The Haunting of Hill House), Jake McDorman (What We Do in the Shadows) Colin O’Donoghue (Once Upon a Time), Aaron Staton (Mad Men), Micah Stock (Escape at Dannemora) and others.
First published in 1979, Tom Wolfe’s non-fiction book became an instant bestseller. In 1983, Philip Kaufman (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) directed a movie based on the book. Kaufman’s The Right Stuff features a stellar ensemble cast including Veronica Cartwright (Alien), Ed Harris (The Rock), Lance Henriksen (Aliens), Barbara Hershey (Black Swan), Dennis Quaid (Innerspace), Sam Shepard (Days of Heaven), and Fred Ward (Tremors). The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning four of them. Despite being a box office failure, The Right Stuff is nowadays frequently cited as one of the best US movies of the 1980s.
The Right Stuff miniseries arrives at Disney+ this fall.
Tom Cruise Goes to Space?!
We’ve been saving the best for last! By far the most surreal entertainment news of the week is the one about Tom Cruise traveling to the cold reaches of the outer space for a movie. An article by Deadline mentions how both NASA and Elon Musk’s Space X program are somehow involved with the project. Furthermore, the article stresses up that this project is in very early stages and might not happen.
But the news is legitimate. AVClub reports NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine took to Twitter to confirm that, yes, they’re thinking of sending an Academy Award-winning star of Top Gun and Mission: Impossible to the International Space Station because NASA wants to “inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists.” Well, that’s one way to do it. Needless to say, filming anything but most rudimentary documentary up in space will be insanely expensive, not to mention dangerous.
Tom Cruise is no stranger to stunts like these. The 57-year old actor takes pride in performing his movie stunts, despite his age. Throughout various Mission: Impossible movies Cruise held onto an airplane during a takeoff; shattered his ankle while parkouring across London rooftops, and climbed Burj Khalifa – a half-a-mile tall skyscraper in Dubai. Despite all that, facing an irradiated vacuum waste of space is a whole different ball game.
