30 years ago, this sci-fi movie became a minor hit — and spawned an even better TV franchise

Three decades ago, before they had their biggest break with Independence Day, screenwriters Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich launched Stargate into theaters with Emmerich also directing the film. When the movie was released in 1994, Stargate defied expectations by performing well for an October release, even if it didn’t earn enough to get a theatrical sequel.

The irony of Stargate is that it was far more successful as a TV franchise than it ever was as a movie. And the movie is good! It’s far from perfect, of course. But the things that the film did well paved the way for the television series that followed it, and there wouldn’t be a Stargate fandom 30 years later without this movie.

It’s a kitschy fusion of Star Wars and Indiana Jones

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Devlin and Emmerich weren’t exactly subtle about their Stargate influences. The premise of the film borrows a few elements from both Star Wars and Indiana Jones. As part of the film’s story, a Stargate is discovered on Earth that can link to a planet across a vast distance in space where aliens — that utilize armor and symbols that look Egyptian — still rule over humans.

A military expedition is sent through the gate before the people on Earth discover what’s waiting for them on the other side. And suddenly this group is facing advanced alien technology while attempting to free the people who have been enslaved for centuries. It works surprisingly well, and sci-fi fans embraced Stargate.

The film had an excellent cast

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Of course, it’s fortunate that Stargate had two fantastic leading actors that helped sell the mythology. Kurt Russell headlines the film as Colonel Jonathan J. “Jack” O’Neil, a man who is suicidal after the accidental death of his son. Jack signs on for the mission because he doesn’t expect to come home alive. Russell demonstrates Jack’s troubled state of mind throughout the story, and he discovers new reasons to keep living by the end.

James Spader’s Dr. Daniel Jackson represented the civilian perspective in the film. Like Indiana Jones, Daniel is an archaeologist who was well-versed with ancient Egyptian culture and symbols. That was why Daniel was brought on the mission, and subsequently why he was the first one from Earth to form a bond with the local humans.

Unless you’ve seen The Crying Game, you may have forgotten the androgynous actor Jaye Davidson. In this film, Davidson portrayed the otherworldly Ra, an alien who ruled the newfound planet with an iron fist. This turned out to be Davidson’s final major role in a movie, but he does give Ra a credibly alien vibe that made him an effective villain.

David Arnold gave the movie a soaring score

It would be a fool’s game to try to match what John Williams brought to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. Regardless, composer David Arnold successfully wrote a rousing score for Stargate that wasn’t too far removed from Williams’ efforts while also retaining its own musical identity.

The opening theme of Stargate was later repurposed and remixed for the TV series, Stargate SG-1, and Arnold’s music has remained a beloved part of the franchise.

The leap to TV

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Because Stargate only earned $71.5 million domestically and $196.6 million worldwide, it wasn’t deemed successful enough to earn the theatrical trilogy envisioned by Devlin and Emmerich. Instead, Showtime ordered a TV spinoff, Stargate SG-1, which acted as a sequel and light reboot for the film while maintaining most of the same continuity. Some of the changes were minor, like Jack O’Neill’s last name adding an extra “l” at the end. Others were more pronounced, including the reveal that Ra was not the last of his kind or even what he initially seemed to be.

Richard Dean Anderson took over the role of Jack for the series, while Michael Shanks portrayed Daniel Jackson. The series also introduced two new main characters — Amanda Tapping as Samantha Carter and God of War‘s Christopher Judge as Teal’c — while expanding the Stargate network to include multiple planets as well as multiple SG teams to explore them throughout the galaxy.

Stargate SG-1 ran for five seasons on Showtime before Syfy picked it up for an additional five seasons. At the time of its conclusion in 2007, it was the longest-running genre series until that record was broken by Supernatural a few years later.

The expanded franchise

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Unlike the film, Stargate flourished on television. In addition to Stargate SG-1, there were two live-action spinoffs: Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. Game of Thrones‘ Jason Momoa had one of his first breakout roles on Atlantis, which ran for five seasons. But by the time Stargate Universe ended after two seasons, the franchise’s moment seemed to have passed.

Stargate SG-1 got two direct-to-DVD movies that wrapped up the show’s lingering plot threads, but that was the last call for many of the actors on that franchise. The last live-action project to date was the 2018 web series Stargate Origins.

For now, the franchise is in hibernation mode, although the theatrical Stargate and its TV spinoffs are readily available to stream on Prime Video. Amazon MGM Studios has also indicated that it will eventually reboot or relaunch the Stargate franchise. The only question is when.

Watch Stargate on Amazon Prime Video.