SG-1 and SGA Casting Updates/Spoilers

There were at least 3 Stargate-related conventions going on this weekend, and various bits of news came out of them related to casting of the remaining S10/S3 episodes, as well as upcoming SG-1 DVD movies and Season 4 of Atlantis.

• N. John Smith confirmed at Collectormania in Manchester, UK, that Carson Beckett will disappear in the second half of Season 3, and that Paul McGillion won’t be a cast regular in Season 4. He did promise Beckett would return for some number of future episodes. This confirms rumors that have been floating for months, and fans have already started a campaign to make their objections to this change clear. Visit SaveCarsonBeckett.com for more info.
• Amanda Tapping said at the GABIT convention in the UK that she will be appearing in “a few” episodes of Atlantis next year, but that it wouldn’t be a full-time role. Michael Shanks said at Creation Con that he has heard we will be seeing a familiar SG-1 face on Atlantis, but that it won’t be him. We assume he was referring to Tapping. Torri Higginson declined to give any details on who might be crossing over, but was supportive of the idea. She also said she had no idea what is in store for Weir in Season 4.
• David Hewlett at Creation Con mentioned that Michael Beach, formerly of ER, has joined the cast of Atlantis, presumably as a recurring character. David used the term “has joined the cast”. His role in SGA is already listed in Beach’s wikipedia entry, but might be new to many fans. David said that Michael is very good a long passages of dialog. He will appear in Season 3, since he has already filmed at least one episode. It’s not known how many episodes he will be in.
• Cliff Simon at Creation Burbank said he expects to reprise his role as Ba’al in at least one of the two SG-1 DVD movies.
• Michael Shanks at Creation Burbank seemed quite committed to being in both movies, and in movies beyond that if the DVD’s sell well and MGM asks for more.

Visit our forum for brief snippets on the conventions from attendees, and stay tuned for a complete A Dog’s Breakfast Screening and Creation Burbank report.