Roland Emmerich’s 1994 sci-fi adventure movie Stargate was meant to be the first in a planned trilogy. The Independence Day director penned the script alongside frequent collaborator Dean Devlin, hoping to kickstart a sci-fi franchise that drew heavily from mythology. While Stargate’s theatrical release broke records at the box office, its critical reception was less than warm due to its cliché-ridden alien-invasion narrative and an overreliance on melodrama. Emmerich’s planned movie sequels were never produced, apparently because MGM instead committed to television expansions of the franchise. Those started with 1997’s Stargate SG-1, which made stellar use of an action-heavy adventure-of-the-week format over 10 seasons — all of which are now streaming on Netflix.

