‘Battlestar Galactica’ Peacock Reboot Lands New Showrunner In ‘The Sinner’ Creator Derek Simonds
Spencer Baculi
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In its latest effort to find its footing amongst the stars, a staffing shake-up regarding Peacock’s planned BSG reboot has resulted in the studio tapping The Sinner creator Derek Simonds to serve as the long-stuck-in-development-hell television series’ new showrunner.
Simonds, who alongside his showrunning duties will also serve as an executive producer and writer of the reboot, was first announced as the head of the eponymous war ship’s new creative time via a January 5th exclusive penned by Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva.
In addition to his aforementioned work developing The Sinner, Simonds’ filmography also includes stints as the screenwriter for ABC’s 2015 adaptation of Lily Koppel’s The Astronaut Wives Club and an executive producer on 2017’s Call Me by Your Name.
First announced in 2019, this planned return to Glen A. Larson’s Cylon-infested universe is the brainchild of Hollywood filmmaker Sam Esmail, perhaps best known for having created, directed, and written USA Network’s Mr. Robot.
Speaking to the series’ direction in a now-deleted tweet from September of that year, Esmail revealed, “BSG fans, this will NOT be a remake of the amazing series @RonDMoore launched because… why mess with perfection? Instead, we’ll explore a new story within the mythology while staying true to the spirit of Battlestar. So say we all!”
Originally, the Battlestar Galactica reboot was set to be written and executive produced by Michael Lesslie, a British screenwriter perhaps best known for having written the widely-panned, Michael Fassbender-led Assassin’s Creed adaptation and co-written the recent The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbids & Snakes.
Then, in March 2021, Lesslie jumped ship from the Galactica, instead choosing to provide his services to Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Maddaddam trilogy.
As of writing, the exact reasons as to Lesslie’s exit remain unknown, as neither he, nor Esmail, nor anyone else currently attached to the project have thus far offered any public comment on the matter.
From there, the series continued to trudge along until early 2023, at which point the advent of that year’s Writers Guild of America strike brought all of Hollywood to a standstill.
However, with the strike’s resolution, the series is once again preparing itself for a potential takeoff.
“We are working on it,” Esmail told Deadline in October 2023 when asked about the status of project. “And in fact, I just read a great outline and it’s in great shape. Because the strike is over now – at least the WGA strike is over – we’re back into developing it.”
NEXT: Rumor: Peacock’s Battlestar Galactica Series Looking For Non-Binary Actor To Play Starbuck
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