Roland Emmerich Directing New 'Stargate' Trilogy; 'Independence Day 2' Gets Rewrite

News on Roland Emmerich's Independence Day 2 has, quite often it seems, been accompanied by updates on a potential Stargate reboot. Emmerich and producer/writer Dean Devlin have been talking about an update of their 1994 sci-fi blockbuster, which grew into a multimedia franchise that included three TV series and a pair of DVD sequels, and now it has been officially announced and in the form they always hoped it would be.

Emmerich will direct and Devlin will produce a new Stargate trilogy set up with MGM and Warner Bros. Kurt Russell and James Spader starred in the original film which dealt with the discovery of a wormhole leading to other civilizations that may have influenced Earth. Stargate banked more than $200M back in 1994 which was no chump change back then.

Stargate may be a ways off as Devlin is busy making his directorial debut on Geostorm, while Emmerich is shooting Independence Day 2, which is now getting a rewrite from Carter Blanchard. Blanchard is the guy penning that forever-developing Spy Hunter film. While this is a step in the right direction, without Will Smith on board and no A-list star to replace him this still feels like a project that is treading water. As it stands, Independence Day 2 is penciled in for July 1st 2016.

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Gerard Butler Leads 'Geostorm'; Taylor Lautner to 'Run the Tide'; James Franco is 'Michael'

* Dean Devilin, a frequent collaborator of Roland Emmerich who helped pen the Stargate screenplay, is set to make his directorial debut with Geostorm. Gerard Butler will topline the sci-fi flick as a stubborn but charming satellite designer who, when the world’s climate-controlling satellites malfunction, has to work together with his estranged brother to save the world from a man-made storm of epic proportions. A trip into space follows, while on Earth a plot to assassinate the president begins to unfold." Filming is to begin this fall, which will give Butler plenty of time to finish up starring in the Point Break remake. [THR]

* Remember Taylor Lautner? Yeah, he was pretty big once. Now the former Twilight hunk is going the indie route, entering talks to star in Run the Tide. Directed by Soham Mehta with a Rajiv Shah script, the story centers on "a man who kidnaps his younger brother and flees for the California coast when their drug-abusing mother is released from prison determined to rebuild their family. With nothing but the open road ahead of them, the brothers race away from a past they never wanted towards a future that could have been as their mother and her ex-husband follow in close pursuit." Well, it sounds better than Abduction, anyway. [TheWrap]

* Gus van Sant has tapped his protege Justin Kelly to direct Michael, a gay-themed film that will star James Franco as the title figure. But don't expect this to be another gay rights story. Instead, the story is based on the New York Times article, My Ex-Gay Friend, about Michael Glatze, a gay rights activist who suddenly renounced his homosexuality and became an anti-gay crusader. Sounds right up Franco and van Sant's alley. Filming begins this summer. [Deadline]

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