Sci Fi Channel Permanently Submerges STARGATE ATLANTIS!! As A Series, At Least...

Merrick here...
STARGATE ATLANTIS looks to be wrapping its run as a series after its current (and now final) season. Plans are to continue the franchise via direct-to-DVD feature projects, a la its progenitor series STARGATE SG-1. The current season, the series' fifth, will end in a cliffhanger that will be resolved on the first DVD project.

"We're excited to tell Atlantis stories on a bigger canvas,” Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, co-creators of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis and currently executive producers on Atlantis, said in a statement. “The successes of the two original Stargate [direct-to-video] movies The Ark of Truth and Continuum have shown us the opportunities that the movie format offers. We have plans for both SG-1 and Atlantis to remain vital as we expand the franchise."

...said series overlords Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper in a statement printed at multichanel.com. The same posting includes quotes from Thomas Vitale, Sci Fi Channel VP of Programing and original movies. GateWorld indicates a more detailed statement from MGM should arrive at some point today. We'll update this article when that happens.