Executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick recently announced that Battlestar Galactica would indeed be coming to an end after four seasons. The two producers held a press conference soon afterward and gave us a few details about the show’s ending and its possible future.

The duo said that they had decided to call it quits awhile ago, while still working out the details of the end of season three. With one of the characters having reached earth and four of the final five cylons having been revealed, they ending the series was in the best interest of the show and its devoted audience. Moore said, “There is a creative agenda we wanted to serve. We feel the show has reached its third act. The storyline is propelling us. If we don’t start paying this off and if we don’t reveal those secrets, you feel like you’re jerking around the audience.”

It turns out that the Sci Fi Channel is not behind the series’ ending as previously suspected. Their programming executives reportedly weren’t crazy about losing their highest-profile, yet expensive, series. Moore notes, “They expressed concern that the show would be able to go on longer, but when we were clear this is what we wanted to do, they were supportive.”

Moore and Eick didn’t address Edward James Olmos’ unofficial announcement of the cancellation last month but it appears the actor knew what he was talking about. Of the cast, Eick said, “Some of them understood…others believed that the show had a longer shelf life and were surprised.” He also noted that they are now “sinking their teeth in” for the final season. Moore said the resuming of production “felt like the beginning of senior year.”

Will the previously announced prequel series take Galactica’s place on the Sci Fi schedule? The show hasn’t been picked up as yet but is still a possibility. Eick shared that, “We’re anxious for any opportunity to pursue it. It’s not on the front burner, but no one has said it’s dead. We continue to hope.” The pilot, entitled Caprica, would show planet life prior to Galactica and would detail the creation of the cylons.

Will the story of Galactica really wrap up next year or could it continue, perhaps as a movie? It’s not likely you’ll see a big screen version anytime soon but it is possible. Moore says, ” The plan is to end the show, to bring it to a definitive conclusion, but never say never. You never know how we’ll feel when we actually write the conclusion. It would be foolish to say absolutely not. But right now, the plan is to end it.” Stay tuned!