The Stargate Portal Device Originally Looked Completely Different

Although every entry in the "Stargate" franchise remains interconnected to some degree, the common denominator holding them together is the strange, shimmering Stargate device. Roland Emmerich's 1994 sci-fi adventure, "Stargate," gives us the earliest ideas surrounding this titular portal, where it is established as a mode of instantaneous space travel. In the film, linguist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) and a group of military officers led by Colonel Jack O'Neill (Kurt Russell) enter the Stargate and land on the desert planet of Abydos, but are stuck there once they're unable to activate the Stargate from which they emerged. Turns out, you need the shimmering blue energy field around the portal for both connecting gates to function, which is only one tiny aspect of how these Stargates actually work as hopping devices from points A to B.

While Emmerich's flick treats the Stargate as a convenient MacGuffin, its series follow-up — the long-running and beloved "Stargate SG-1" — made painstaking efforts to flesh out these devices in terms of plausible functionality. Moreover, in a sci-fi franchise featuring ancient galactic races and literal planes of ascension, the concept of a portal that allows expedition groups to instantaneously travel between planets feels rather grounded in comparison. "SG-1," however, has given us enough Stargate lore to make us take these devices for granted, to the point that they've become a dependable aspect of these intense, dramatic stories about human nature on the brink of groundbreaking feats, and beyond.

The classic, signature appearance of these Stargate devices hasn't changed all that much between franchise projects, but we do have various iterations of these portals to signify technological progress. But what if I told you that the earliest concept art for these Stargates was drastically different from the ones that the franchise is famously known for? 

To provide a quick refresher: In 1994's "Stargate," a capstone etched with hieroglyphs is unearthed at Giza, Egypt, followed by a giant metallic ring that looks like an arched gateway. After the best experts and archaeologists are unable to figure out a correlation between these artifacts, Jackson figures out a cipher that helps calibrate these two puzzle pieces. Once linked, a shimmering blue energy field fills the archway, creating a wormhole that makes instantaneous space travel possible. The ring surrounding the portal is silver in color, with chevron-shaped lights locking in the dialing or calibration process. This combination makes these devices appear sleek and timeless, but they also carry hints of being crafted by an ancient, non-human civilization.

Now, Emmerich co-wrote "Stargate" with long-time collaborator Dean Devlin, and they worked together to create the nitty-gritties of an original sci-fi premise that is supposed to be a bit bonkers in terms of lore and worldbuilding. A major aspect of creating these fantastical, compelling worlds is to make them look a certain way, which includes the titular Stargate, which is crucial to the film's very premise. When Devlin and Emmerich were brainstorming the color of the Stargate archway, they had initially chosen something that would have looked cheap and underwhelming. Devlin spoke about the initial design on the audio commentary track for the home video release of "Stargate" Ultimate Edition (via Syfy):

"Originally, the Stargate was painted black, and it looked like a giant tire. So we had to have it repainted at the last moment."

This might feel like a small detail, but it did end up completely changing the kind of lore that these devices convey from a franchise standpoint. After all, a giant, tire-like structure hardly evokes "ancient artifact," and I'm glad Devlin and Emmerich switched to metallic silver, which strikes the perfect balance between the past and the future.