For the Stargate franchise to enter a new era and attract a new audience, SCI FI network president Dave Howe believes that ‘Universe’ should update its storytelling for a new generation. “The ambition with Universe is to skew it younger than the previous two chapters and fill it with a fresh-faced cast,” he said this week, adding that the producers needed to provide “storytelling that is more for the late 2000s than it is for the 1990s.”

The Atlantis movie will air later in 2009, and will be followed by more adventures from the lost city of the Ancients — if the first is a success. “I can’t predict whether an ongoing series of Atlantis-based movies will prove successful,” producer Joseph Mallozzi said. “However, if the performance of the two SG-1 movies is anything to go by, the audience is out there.”

The SCI FI Channel is calling it quits with ‘Stargate Atlantis’ — or at least in its current format — the network confirmed today. The ‘Stargate SG-1′ spin-off series, which began in 2004, will conclude in January with the current, fifth season, finale. It will be closely followed by a 2-hour Atlantis movie, to be aired on SCI FI and released on DVD by MGM.

The Numbers has Stargate: Continuum debuting in the number three spot, behind Harold and Kumar and 21. Continuum is estimated to have sold approximately 276,677 DVD units in its first week, earning about $4.8 million.

The ‘Stargate SG-1′ and ‘Stargate Atlantis’ director is up for recognition for his work on the Atlantis Season Four episode “Trio.” Wood also directed the recent direct-to-DVD release of ‘Stargate: Continuum’, which featured unprecedented Arctic footage, as well as the raising of a Los Angeles-class submarine.

GateWorld’s Chad Colvin sat down with Michael Shanks (”Dr Daniel Jackson”) in April, just hours after he had sat down to watch Continuum with the cast, crew, and a handful of fans from Creation Entertainment’s Vancouver Stargate convention.

Whereas March’s Stargate: The Ark of Truth was meant to tie up the story from the last two years of the television show, Continuum is much more of a stand-alone story — a wild adventure with time travel, tons of amazing special effects, and a host of bad guys back from the grave.

‘Continuum’ is Stargate at its very best. If this is what an on-going series of Stargate movies look like, fans are in for a terrific ride. Combine one of Stargate’s best with an excellent audio commentary and a handful of great bonus features, and sci-fi fans have no reason not to go and buy two.

While Stargate: Continuum is a stand-alone movie that doesn’t necessarily require a lot of back-story, GateWorld has put together a Stargate refresher course to get you back up to speed for SG-1’s biggest adventure ever.