Battlestar Galactica's Ron Moore left Sony Pictures Television after signing a new deal with the Disney-owned 20th Television.
Industry sources for The Hollywood Reporter say Moore actually finalized his contract with Disney in summer 2020. His first project under the multi-year agreement will be a Swiss Family Robinson series for Disney+, which Moore is working on with Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu.
"Ron’s as passionate about Disney parks, characters and IP as our head of drama Michelle Mendelovitz was about bringing him to the studio, and when he said 'yes' we were all thrilled beyond belief," said 20th Television Executive Vice President, Development Carolyn Cassidy. "His beautiful work on Battlestar Galactica, Outlander and For All Mankind are well known for their artistry and intelligence, their unforgettable characters and big, broad appeal. And it’s been so exciting for Karey, Michelle and me to see how inspired he is by the Disney canon. Swiss Family Robinson is just the first project he has up his sleeve and we’re so glad he’s made 20th his creative home."
"I’d like to thank [Disney's] Dana Walden, Carolyn Cassidy and Michelle Mendelovitz, and now Karey Burke, for inviting me to join their amazing team at 20th Television and Disney," Moore added. "I grew up loving Disney movies, TV shows, and theme parks, and I still do to this day, so the chance to work on some of those same classic titles like Swiss Family Robinson was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up. I had an amazing experience at Sony Pictures Television and I’d like to thank everyone at Sony for their steadfast support and personal friendship over the last decade."
In addition to co-creating the 2000s Battlestar Galactica TV series, Moore created Starz's small-screen adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander fantasy novels and developed Apple's alternate history space drama For All Mankind with Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert. Moore will continue to be involved with new seasons of the latter two shows, with Matt Roberts and Nedivi and Wolpert taking over show-running duties on the respective projects.
Moore started out as a writer/producer on the Star Trek series The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. He later worked on shows like Roswell and HBO's Carnivale before re-imagining the 1970s Battlestar Galactica TV show for Syfy. Moore also wrote a live-action Star Wars series for George Lucas and ABC in 2013 that was abandoned in pre-production.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter