After the announcement on August 20, 2008 that Season 5 of Atlantis would be its last,[29] they announced the following day (August 21, 2008) that the series would be continued with at least one 2-hour direct-to-video movie. The movie was supposed to be released in June 2009, but there has yet to be any details on the release date for the movie. More movies are expected to follow in the Atlantis series if the first movie is successful.[34] Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi has said that the rise of the Canadian dollar and the decline of the American dollar has made life harder for Canadian television since it has become more expensive. He further stated "Both MGM and Sci Fi have been great supporters of the show and, if you go by SG-1's example, fans can be assured that the end of the series will not be the end of Atlantis."[29]

Mallozzi called the Atlantis film Project Twillight[35] until the title of the first Atlantis film was revealed as Stargate: Extinction in late May 2009.[36] After the worldwide premiere of Stargate: Extinction on the Sci Fi Channel, MGM is planning on releasing it straight-to-DVD. Paul Mullie and Joseph Mallozzi completed the scripting of the movie in May 2009.[37][38] Andy Mikita is going to direct the first Atlantis film.[39] The tentative shoot-date of the movie is bound for late 2009, though there has yet to be any details on the release date. As of May 2009, confirmed actors are Amanda Tapping as Samantha Carter,[40] and Christopher Heyerdahl as Todd.[41]