Bryan Singer's 'Battlestar Galactica' Movie To Be Written By 'Band Of Brothers' Writer John Orloff

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna frak it up." That's what screenwriter John Orloff told the Los Angeles Times when it was announced that he'd been hired to write a new Battlestar Galactica movie for Universal and director Bryan Singer. Orloff wrote Anonymous, which is about to hit theaters; he also scripted Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and A Mighty Heart. He was Emmy-nominated for his work on the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers. Like Singer, he's a long time Battlestar Galactica fan and has what he calls "a pretty radical take" on the material. We've got more after the jump.

Deadline first broke the news of Orloff's deal and he told them the following:

I have wanted to write this movie since I was 12 years old, and built a Galactica model from scratch out of balsa wood, cardboard, old model parts and LEDs. I love BSG, and I would pass on the job rather than frak it up.

That's easier said than done. Ronald D. Moore's television remake of Battlestar Galactica was such a massive hit with both fans and non-fans alike that doing a movie to hypothetically reboot it would be a hard sell. It's important to note, however, that Orloff wouldn't confirm to the LA Times if the film was or wasn't in Moore's universe. One just assumes it's not because Singer has been trying to make a Battlestar movie long before Moore's show hit the air. Either way, with Orloff scripting now and Singer deep into post-production on Jack the Giant Killer, even if all the stars aligned perfectly, this film wouldn't start shooting until late 2012.

In case you weren't a fan of either the original 1978 Glen Larson or new 2004 television series, here's the basic idea. Battlestar Galactica is about a future where humans are at war with artificially intelligent machines called Cylons. Those machines destroy the human race and the show follows the titular ship manned with the last remaining survivors trying to find a new home as the Cylons chase them down, eager to finish the job. In other words, it's awesome. And hopefully Orloff and Singer can pull off some magic.

Additional source: Los Angeles Times