Christopher Judge Has One Regret About Working On Stargate

Roland Emmerich's "Stargate" was a solid box office success in 1994, which in Hollywood usually means sequels. The original plan was for a trilogy of "Stargate" movies, but things didn't quite work out that way. Instead, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created a continuation TV show in the form of "Stargate SG-1," which successfully picked up where the film left off, minus the stars from the big screen. Instead of Kurt Russell playing SG-1 leader Colonel Jack O'Neill, the showrunners brought in "MacGyver" star Richard Dean Anderson, alongside Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson (replacing James Spader, who played the character in the film).

"Stargate SG-1" also brought in some new characters. Alongside Amanda Tapper's Samantha Carter, Christopher Judge came onboard to play reformed Jaffa warrior Teal'c, who joins the SG-1 team early on after rebuking his former Goa'uld overlords. Judge's character quickly became a fan-favorite, becoming instantly recognizable thanks to his distinctive forehead symbol.

Throughout 10 seasons of "Stargate SG-1," Judge remained an integral part of the show and its success. He also seemed to have a blast making it, speaking fondly of his time on the series and even becoming the "SG-1" character with the most on-screen appearances. What, then, could Judge possibly regret about a show that he not only seemed to genuinely enjoy making, but which gave him arguably his biggest role to date?

Speaking about his favorite "Stargate SG-1" episodes, Christopher Judge recalled the 200th installment as particularly memorable, telling IGN it was "the most fun [he's] ever had doing an episode." He continued, "The cast was excited, the writers were excited, and the 200th is really a thank you letter, a love letter to the fans, thanking them for all these years of support." Clearly, then, Judge took the show and its fans seriously and cared about what "SG-1" meant to those who truly loved it.

By the end of the 10th season he had remained a stalwart member of the team, even as other major characters, including Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson started to appear less and less. Judge even tried to spearhead an "SG-1" spin-off that would have changed the franchise forever, but the idea, which according to Judge constituted "Stargate's take on 'Black Panther,'" never got off the ground. So, we have a fan-favorite actor who loved making the show and wanted it to continue even after "SG-1" came to an end. What regrets could Judge have?

Well, it has nothing to do with his never-realized spin-off. In an interview with GateWorld, the actor was asked about 2008's "Stargate: The Ark of Truth" and "Stargate: Continuum," two direct-to-video movies that were essentially "SG-1" sequels. There were plans for a third "SG-1" movie, but that threequel never actually came to be. Asked whether he and his fellow cast members had a feeling that "Continuum" could be the real end of the "SG-1" saga, Judge said, "You know, no, because we fully expected to, at least, do one more. So it's weird looking back on it. That if we had known that that was going to be it, I wish I had taken more pictures."

The third "Stargate SG-1" sequel film actually came fairly close to being produced. Titled "Stargate: Revolution," the movie would have seen the general public being told about the existence of the Stargate portals — a major development in the "Stargate" universe. Sadly, when it came time to actually start making the movie, MGM (which produced "Stargate SG-1") was experiencing financial woes that, when coupled with the ongoing collapse of the DVD market, made a third "SG-1" film impossible.

That means that the cast and crew had their last outing with "Continuum" and didn't even know it. Teal'c would return in the "Stargate Atlantis" season 4 episodes "Reunion" and "Midway," both of which aired in 2007. He also came close to returning in a cancelled "Stargate" movie that would have brought every show together. Sadly, "Continuum" was the SG-1 crew's last hurrah. Still, Judge seemed to have had a good time making the film. As he went on to tell GateWorld:

"The show had ended and it was just great. What I remember most is just the reunion and seeing everyone. Not just the cast, but also the crew. We had gotten almost our entire crew back. So, it was fifteen or seventeen days — whatever it was — of just a reunion."

According to the actor he now only sees his former cast mates at conventions, which rather than dampening Judge's spirit has given him a sense of how special his time on "SG-1" really was. He said, "It's really given me a real kind of perspective on what a great time we had for 10 years."