Where to Watch Stargate Movies
You can watch the Stargate franchise from the comfort of your own home either by purchasing DvD or Blu-ray copies of the movies or by streaming them online.
The streaming opportunities vary from year to year, as each streaming service chooses which properties to license or not. You can legally watch the movies for free with ads (sometimes) on streaming services like YouTube.
You can illegally grab the movies on pirate Websites, but I don’t recommend that. A company named Irdeto (and perhaps a few competitors), purportedly monitors Internet download activity for Internet Service Providers. In 2019 Comcast forwarded to me a false accusation from Irdeto alleging that I had illegally downloaded a movie 5 times. Comcast had assigned me a permanent IP address but the employee who gave me that address failed to note it in their system – so Comcast insisted I was using a pooled IP address despite the fact I was able to confirm my static IP address via multiple services.
I cancelled my Comcast subscription because there was no way to fight the false reports. I’m sure Irdeto knew someone was downloading movies, but it wasn’t me and they weren’t using my Internet connection. You could lose your Internet service and be held liable for copyright infringement if one of these monitoring companies accuses you of violating ISP terms and conditions.
I watch Stargate online via my Amazon Prime account. It looks like Netflix also offers it. And you may occasionally see the movies or shows on cable television channels.
How Many Stargate Movies Were Made?
![Cover of the 15th anniversary Blu-ray for the original 'Stargate' movie.](https://movies.xenite.org/files/2020/12/stargate-15th-anniversary.jpg)
Hardcore fans know all the movie titles. Where they may disagree is on which productions were actually movies. Most people know about the original Stargate movie starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. Released in 1994, the movie was produced by (the now defunct) Centropolis Film Productions. Roland Emmerich directed the movie, which he co-wrote with Dean Devlin. They hoped to make 2 more movies as part of a trilogy, but eventually MGM decided to turn the franchise into a cable TV series and gave control to Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner.
The original concept is said to have been developed by Omar Zuhdi in 1985. He sued for copyright infringement and was reportedly paid $50,000 in an out-of-court settlement. In 1996 a judge agreed with Zuhdi’s contention, thus prompting the settlement to avoid a higher damage award from a jury.
Although Zuhdi’s story was original, the concept of using a constructed gateway to travel between worlds was first proposed by writer Andre Norton in her 1956 novel, Star Gate. In her book, aliens transplanted humans to other worlds and enslaved them. The hero of the story is a half-human, half-alien character.
To date, no one has ever acknowledged any direct connection between Andre Norton’s book – or her subsequent Witch World series, which also used constructed gateways for travel between worlds – and the Stargate franchise.
![Cover of the 'Stargate: Children of the Gods' DvD.](https://movies.xenite.org/files/2020/12/stargate-children-of-the-gods.jpg)
The MGM series, Stargate SG-1, began with a 2-hour pilot film, Children of the Gods. It established the series’ fundamental concepts while making some changes to the original movie’s concepts. The alien race inhabiting captured humans now became smaller in size and shape compared to Ra in Stargate. The stargate was moved from “a converted missile silo” to Cheyenne Mountain (where NORAD is headquartered). And the only two actors to return from the original cast were Alexis Cruz (Skarra) and Erik Avari (Kasuf, Skarra’s father).
Actor Michael Shanks, who took over James Spader’s character of Dr. Daniel Jackson, played Jackson in the same way Spader had for 3 years. Vaitiare Hirshon (under the name Vaitiare Bandera) played Sha’Re, essentially the same character (Sha’Uri) originated by Mili Avital in Stargate. Richard Dean Anderson took on Kurt Russell’s character of Colonel Jack O’Neill, but the character was renamed from O’Neil (used in the movie). Don S. Davis took command of the program as General George Hammond, replacing General W.O. West (played by Leon Rippy). Numerous other changes were also made.
No other movies were made during the 10-year production run of Stargate SG-1. Although there was little to no demand for movies at the time, fans always wondered what Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich would have done. Meanwhile, there were a number of multi-part episodes throughout the series including:
![Cover of the 'Stargate: The Ark of Truth' Blu-ray](https://movies.xenite.org/files/2020/12/stargate-ark-of-truth.jpg)
“Within the Serpent’s Grasp” / “The Serpent’s Lair”, bridging seasons 1 and 2; “The Tok’Ra”, parts 1 and 2 within season 2; “Out of Mind” / “Into the Fire”, bridging seasons 2 and 3; “Jolinar’s Memories” / “The Devil You Know” within season 3; “Nemesis” / “Small Victories”, bridging seasons 3 and 4; “Exodus” / “Enemies”, bridging seasons 4 and 5; “Summit” / “Last Stand” within season 5; “Redemption”, parts 1 and 2 at the start of season 6; “Fallen” / “Homecoming” at the start of season 7; “Evolution”, parts 1 and 2, within season 7; “Heroes”, parts 1 and 2, within season 7; “Lost City”, parts 1 and 2, at the end of season 7; “New Order”, parts 1 and 2, at the start of season 8; “Reckoning”, parts 1 and 2, within season 8; “Moebius”, parts 1 and 2, at the end of season 8.
At the time, the show was scheduled to end at the end of the 8th season and “Moebius” was written to be a final sendoff for the cast. However, the show was renewed for 2 more seasons. More 2-part episodes followed, including:
“Avalon”, parts 1 and 2, at the start of season 9; “The Fourth Horseman”, parts 1 and 2, within season 9; and “The Quest”, parts 1 and 2.
Stargate: Atlantis was a direct spin-off of Stargate SG-1, promoting several characters from the original series to starring or recurring roles. The series was launched with a 90-minute made-for-television movie, Rising, that is now shown as 2 episodes. There were a number of 2-part episodes in Stargate: Atlantis and in the follow-up show Stargate: Universe. Neither show was set on Earth.
![Cover for 'Stargate: Continuum' Blu-ray.](https://movies.xenite.org/files/2020/12/stargate-continuum.jpg)
The SG-1 team returned in 2 direct-to-DvD movies. MGM and SyFy were struggling financially as a result of the Great Recession. Also, the Tribune Company had gone into bankruptcy, and their network of TV stations were forced to cut back on expensive syndication contracts. MGM decided not to renew Stargate SG-1 even though it had yet to resolve the main arc begun in season 9 (the war with the Ori). MGM announced it would produce 3 Stargate movies but quickly changed that to 2 direct-to-DvD movies.
The direct-to-DvD movies were Stargate: The Ark of Truth, which wrapped up the Ori saga, and Stargate: Continuum, which wrapped up the Goa’uld saga.
The concept for “Lost City” was originally proposed as a movie tentatively titled Stargate 2. When the season was released on DvD, the 2 episodes were combined into a single 90-minute episode.
The final production (to date) was the Web-based series Stargate Origins: Catherine, and its 10 parts have since been combined into a single movie available on both Blu-ray and DvD. You may also be able to watch it via some streaming services.
How to Watch Stargate Movies in Chronological Order
![Promotional art for 'Stargate Origins: Catherine'](https://movies.xenite.org/files/2020/12/stargate-origins-catherine.jpg)
The chronological order of the movies is confusing because some of them cross each other in the timeline. However, this order makes the most sense.
- Stargate Origins: Catherine
- Stargate
- Children of the Gods
- Lost City
- Stargate: Atlantis – Rising
- Stargate: The Ark of Truth
- Stargate: Continuum
However, if you don’t watch the entire 10-year run of Stargate SG-1 you won’t understand the storylines of the last 2 movies. They don’t merely reference past events, they build on plot points that were long developed across the entire 10-year production run.
You can watch only Stargate SG-1 and these movies and you will understand nearly everything that happens. However, there are some crossover episodes between Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis, which was introduced as a spin-off from Stargate SG-1. The first episode of Stargate: Atlantis was a made-for-TV movie.
Major Villains of the Stargate Franchise
Ra is the villain of Stargate. The movie says he is a survivor from a dying race. They appeared to be smaller humanoids somehow capable of taking Earth’s human beings as hosts. However, the movie was ambiguous about the nature of Ra’s race and how he could inhabit a human body.
![Cover for 10-season Stargate-SG1 Blu-ray/DvD](https://movies.xenite.org/files/2020/12/stargate-sg-1-1to10.jpg)
Ra’s race was redefined in Stargate SG-1 to be snake-like creatures who form a symbiotic relationship with creatures of other species by entering their bodies (forcefully or with the hosts’ consent) and attaching themselves to the nervous system. The Goa’uld, as they were called, could reproduce sexually or asexually in their original form but could also use their hosts’ DNA to control how future generations of their kind would evolve. According to Hathor, the Goa’uld adapted themselves to inhabit each species through controlled evolution, which explains why most of them preferred human hosts.
The Goa’uld enslaved a sub-group of humans, making them stronger and longer-lived than Earth’s humanity. These Jaffa were also genetically engineered to carry young symbiotes without blending, until they were old enough to take hosts. The Jaffa served as the soldiers (and enforcers) of the Goa’uld.
The Goa’uld transplanted other human slaves to distant planets via stargates, where they were forced to build civilizations and worship the Goa’uld as gods. The more powerful Goa’uld banded together to form a loose confederation known as the System Lords. They were served by other Goa’uld as lieutenants or vassals. The System Lords and their vassals often betrayed each other and lower-ranked Goa’uld advanced themselves either by overthrowing their senior lords or starting their own empires.
The Goa’uld were the main villains for most of Stargate SG-1‘s production run and the final movie, Stargate: Continuum, brought back all the Goa’uld System Lords for a final showdown.
![Box set for 'Stargate: Atlantis', all 5 seasons.](https://movies.xenite.org/files/2020/12/stargate-atlantis-1to5.jpg)
When Ben Browder and Beau Bridges joined the cast for seasons 9 and 10 as Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell and General Hank Landry, the show introduced new villains. These were the Ori, beings of energy who were once human but who had learned how to ascend to a higher plane. Ascension had been introduced and explained in earlier seasons. The Milky Way Galaxy was once home to a group of ancient humans called Ancients. The 2-part episode Avalon established that the Ancients were a remnant from a human species that originated in another galaxy. They migrated to the Milky Way Galaxy and established a large civilization. However, the SG-1 team subsequently discovered that the Ancients – originally known as Alterans, had come from a galaxy they shared with other members of their species known as the Ori.
Both groups of ancient peoples had eventually learned to ascend. Both groups also seeded their respective galaxies with new human species. The Ori enslaved their 2nd evolution human populations and used their worship to strengthen themselves. The Alterans nurtured 2nd evolution human populations on Earth but eventually died out as the result of a plague.
For unexplained reasons, and as the premise of Stargate: Atlantis, the Alterans left Earth “millions of years ago” and went to the nearby Pegasus galaxy. They seeded the galaxy with human life and established a large civilization there. But they encountered an alien species they called the Wraith. The Wraith evolved into human-like forms from large insects called Eratis bugs by absorbing Alteran DNA. The Alterans, by this time calling themselves Lanteans, became divided into the people of Atlantis (their chief city) and isolated human populations throughout the rest of the galaxy. The Wraith overwhelmed the Lanteans in a 100-year war, destroying their civilization and turning most of their isolated surviving populations into breeding stock for food.
![Covers for seasons 1 and 2 of 'Stargate: Universe' on DvD and Blu-ray.](https://movies.xenite.org/files/2020/12/stargate-sgu-1and2.jpg)
The few Lanteans remaining in control of Atlantis sank the city into the sea on their home planet and then returned to Earth. By this point they were unable to rebuild their civilization. Many Lanteans had already ascended in the Pegasus galaxy and others ascended from Earth or elsewhere in the Milky Way galaxy.
Although the Goa’uld and Ori were ultimately defeated the Wraith remained a threat at the end of the 5-year run of Stargate: Atlantis. The show was brought to a hasty by somewhat unsatisfying conclusion, perhaps leaving the producers some leeway to return to the Pegasus galaxy in the future.
Stargate: Universe brought back a galaxy-spanning alliance of criminals (former slaves of the Goa’uld) known as the Lucian Alliance. The Alliance was never fully, formally defeated by SGU (as the show is called) was cancelled after the second season because of MGM’s financial problems.
Conclusion
So, that’s the story of the Stargate film and TV franchise. How many Stargate movies were actually made? You make the call.
With more than 300 episodes available, you can binge on the Stargate franchise for a long, long time. But if you long for more, you can scan YouTube for fan-made films. You’ll find many, including 2018’s Base Gamma, which is about 2 hours long. Of course, it has no canonical value for anyone who wants to understand the franchise’s universe.