AirLockAlpha.com

It looks like David Weddle and Bradley Thompson won't be writing the "Battlestar Galactica" telemovie after all.

The supervising producer pair of the hit SciFi Channel series have made the tough choice of moving on from the Peabody Award-winning franchise as they join an even larger television franchise: "CSI."

"When we got the offer, we had to call Ron Moore and ask to be released from the movie," Weddle told Airlock Alpha's Michael Hinman. "It was one of the most difficult calls we ever had to make, but Ron made it easy by telling us we should seize this new opportunity."

The two will join the Las Vegas version of "CSI" on CBS beginning July 7 as writers and supervising producers, a similar role they had with "Battlestar Galactica." Because of the new job, they had to withdraw from writing the upcoming "Battlestar Galactica" movie, instead handing the reins over to popular writer Jane Espenson, as first reported on the fan blog site Galactica Sitrep.

"Jane Espenson has eagerly grabbed the baton and will write the movie," Weddle confirmed. "We helped the staff outline the plot this week, and this [Thursday] is my final day at 'Battlestar.'"

Galactica Sitrep also reported that series star Edward James Olmos will direct the telemovie, something that sources for Airlock Alpha have initially confirmed as "likely."

Weddle and Thompson are continuing on what has been a fascinating career move for the both of them so far. Both Weddle and Thompson got their start after Ira Steven Behr, a fan of director Sam Peckinpah, invited Weddle -- who authored a biography on the late director -- to the set of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Weddle almost jokingly asked if he could ever pitch some stories for "Deep Space Nine," but Behr took him up on the offer, and the two ended up writing some memorable episodes in the final three seasons of the show including "Extreme Measures," "Prodigal Daughter" and "Inquisition."

The two later were invited to join the writing crew of "Battlestar Galactica" by former DS9 executive producer Ronald D. Moore, who was helming the new series. The two would eventually become supervising producers but also wrote a number of episodes for the series including most recently the SyFy Genre Award-nominated "He That Believeth In Me" and "Revelations."

"A five-year journey, the ride of a lifetime, is at an end," Weddle said. "It's heartbreaking, but I'm incredibly grateful that I could be a part of it."

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