Battlestar Galactica Movie Wants to Gender-Swap Roles?

Universal’s long-gestatingBattlestar Galacticamovie is still moving forward, with directorFrancis Lawrenceoffering an interesting update while promoting his new movieRed Sparrow. While there is still no indication as to when production may actually take place, the filmmaker has been developing the script withWestworldco-creator Lisa Joy, and while no specific plot details have been divulged, the filmmaker revealed there is a strong possibility some of the iconic roles from the TV series may be gender-swapped. Here’s what the director had to say when asked about the possibility of gender-swapping certainBattlestar Galacticaroles.

“Yes absolutely 100 per cent! I’m not going to give any details but 100% there’s room for that.”

While there has been little to no movement on the project since Lawrence wasbrought on as directorin June 2016, the director revealed in an interview last month thatBattlestar Galacticais in fact still happening, although he offered no updates as to when casting or filming may begin. The director reiterated his statements from last month, confirming that he’s still working on the project with Lisa Joy, but it’s been slow going, since he was working onRed Sparrowand she was writing the upcoming second season of HBO’sWestworld, with co-creator Jonathan Nolan.

“Yeah we’re still working on that. I’ve beendeveloping that for a while. I’ve been working with Lisa Joy who’s been fantastic, she’s one of the creators ofWestworldand she’s been doing a fantastic job.It’s taken a while because she’s done two seasons ofWestworldwhile writing this and I’ve been makingRed Sparrowwhile working on this so it’s been a while. Yes it’s a reimagining, it’s not a continuation of the series, it’s a standalone piece.”

What’s interesting is the most recentBattlestar Galacticaseries from creator Ronald D. Moore also featured a gender-swapped character. TheLieutenant Starbuckcharacter originated by Dirk Benedict in the original movie and short-lived TV series, was turned into Captain Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, played by Katee Sackhoff in her breakthrough role. This most recent incarnation of the series ran for four seasons between 2004 and 2009, spanning 73 episodes.

The movie will be produced by Bluegrass Films' Scott Stuber, along with Michael De Luca and Dylan Clark for Universal Pictures. Before Francis Lawrence and Lisa Joy were brought on, the studio had brought in writers such as Jack Paglen (Transcendence) and John Orloff (Band of Brothers) although there is no indication as to whether or not any of thematerial from these older scriptswas retained for this new version that Francis Lawrence and Lisa Joy are working on. Still, given the massive fan base forBattlestar Galactica, this movie could be one of the most highly-anticipated projects out there, if it ever gets to a point where it’s ready to start filming. With all of these different versions ofBattlestar Galacticaout there, there is no word on if this movie will take any specific cues from any of the earlier incarnations or not. Francis Lawrence revealed these new details in an interview withDigital Spy.