SCI
FI Channel announced today that casting has been completed on the
network's highly anticipated original series, Stargate Atlantis. Joe
Flanigan (Profiler, Tru Calling) leads the cast and will be joined
by Torri Higginson (TekWar), Rainbow Sun Francks, David Hewlett (Stargate
SG-1) and Rachel Luttrell (Impostor).
Set
to debut in July with a two-hour premiere, Atlantis follows the adventures
of the Stargate Atlantis team, which is formed after a secret base,
abandoned by the original builders of the Stargates, is found buried
in the ice of Antarctica. Their discovery leads to a daring expedition
to the distant Pegasus galaxy, where they encounter a primitive human
civilization and a sinister new enemy that threatens human life everywhere.
Flanigan
will play Maj. John Sheppard, a courageous and gifted pilot, while
Higginson will portray Dr. Elizabeth Weir, head of the mission and
a diplomatic relations specialist. Rounding out the cast are Francks
as Lt. Aiden Ford, an enthusiastic young officer who becomes Sheppard's
second-in-command, Hewlett, reprising his Stargate SG-1 recurring
role as astrophysicist Dr. Rodney McKay, and Luttrell as Teyla, a
beautiful young leader among the primitive alien civilization that
the Atlantis team encounters. In a special guest starring role, sci-fi
favorite Robert Patrick (Terminator 2, The X-Files) will appear as
Col. Marshall Sumner in the two-hour Atlantis premiere event. Following
its premiere, 18 additional original episodes of Atlantis will air
during the show's regular Friday night 10 p.m. ET/PT slot, as a companion
series to the all-new eighth season of Stargate SG-1.