It’s a three-year wait for more Star Wars. Six months for more Star Trek. But guess what? Battlestar Galactica returns in only four days.
Universal Cable Productions’ long-awaited Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome has not only found a distribution outlet, but it’s getting a super-close premiere date. Plus, there’s a rather spectacular new trailer (below).
Here’s the raw essentials: BSG: B&C is a prequel movie being presented as ten, 7-12-minute episodes on young-male-targeted entertainment company Machinima’s YouTube channel, called Machinima Prime. The first episode will be released on Friday, Nov. 9, with the remaining episodes rolled out over the next four weeks. In early 2013, the two-hour version of B&C will air on Syfy, followed by the release of an unrated version on home video.
Such a three-tiered windowing release strategy (online, network and DVD, all within a few months) is considered unique for a TV series.
For those who haven’t followed the B&C saga, the project was originally developed as a series for Syfy following the conclusion of the critically beloved Battlestar Galactica reboot and its movie spin-offs The Plan and Razor. BSG vets David Eick and Michael Taylor are executive producers, with Taylor writing the script from a story by Eick, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle. Jonas Pate (Caprica) directed.
The prequel follows young William Adama (Luke Pasqualino, UK’s Skins) during the first Cylon War. Assigned to the Galactica, the eager Adama finds himself at odds with his co-pilot, the battle-weary officer Coker (Ben Cotton, Alcatraz). Like Starz’ Spartacus, the series uses “virtual set” CGI technology that adds more expansive and spectacular backdrops than possible in a convention production.
“With its top-notch storytelling, pulse-pounding action, and cutting-edge visual effects, Blood & Chrome is the perfect extension of the Battlestar Galactica universe,” said Mark Stern, Syfy programming president and co-head of original content at UCP. “We are thrilled to see this hotly-anticipated event premiere on Machinima, an online network that is unparalleled in its delivery of high-class digital content to millions of viewers.”
