Universe – Page 39 – Solutions Blog

SGU: Jamil Walker Smith Cast as Sr. Sgt. Ronald Greer

In our third casting announcement made today, Matt Mitovich of TV Guide has revealed that Jamil Walker Smith has been cast as Sr. Sgt. Ronald Greer in Stargate Universe. This role was formerly known as Ron “Psycho” Stasiak.

Smith provided the voice of Gerald Martin Johanssen in the animated series Hey Arnold!. According to his IMDb profile, he was born 20 August 1982 in New York, New York, and is a bit older than the 20-year-old profiled in the casting breakdown for his character. Other character traits, however, seem to apply, as Mitovich described him as “a Marine with an explosive temper…and a mysterious past to account for it.” Greer supposedly has had a near-death experience that has changed his outlook on life. He’s a tough soldier and has no qualms about putting his own life in danger in order to save and protect others. Dr. David Rush (Robert Carlyle) strongly dislikes him, but still admires him for his strength and recommends him for the small crew that is to take the Ancient Shuttle from the Destiny to a nearby planet. This Shuttle mission is highly risky, given that the Destiny might leave the crew behind as it proceeds on its unalterable preset course to visit Stargates placed on distant planets millions of years ago.

Stargate Universe will begin filming February 4 in Vancouver.

SGU: Justin Louis Cast as Col. Everett Young

Matt Mitovich of TV Guide has announced the casting of Justin Louis as Col. Everett Young in Stargate Universe. Louis has played the character of Art in the Saw movie franchise and had the title role of Donald Trump in Trump Unauthorized.

Born 20 February 1967 in Portugal, Louis was raised in Toronto. According to his IMDb profile, he has had the starring role in nine different television series.

Col. Young is the leader of the off-world base that houses the Ninth Chevron Project (not necessarily the official name of the project, but a name given herein for clarification). While the facility is being toured by civilian representatives from the International Oversight Advisory (IOA) and the United States Senate, an attack leaves everyone scrambling for safety. The survivors flee through the Stargate and end up on the Ancient starship Destiny, which leaves them stranded far from Earth and with no means of returning home.

Young had formerly been an SG team leader, but he lost some of his team. He was married two years ago to Hailey and requested to serve the rest of his commission on Earth. He was given the temporary command of the base when it comes under attack. Once stranded, Young takes control of the crew, much to the objections of the Project leader Dr. David Rush (Robert Carlyle).

Stargate Universe is scheduled to begin filming the premiere episode “Air” on February 4.

SGU: David Blue Cast as Eli Wallace

This casting announcement is just in from Entertainment Weekly: David Blue, formerly Cliff St. Paul from Ugly Betty, has been cast as Eli Wallace (formerly known as Eli Hitchcock) for the new Stargate Universe television series, which is due to start filming February 4, 2009.

Michael Ausiello at EW stated, “Sources confirm to me exclusively that Blue has been tapped to join the cast of Sci Fi Channel’s Stargate Universe, the franchise’s third (and purportedly edgiest) live-action series.

“Blue, who joins previously announced headliner Robert Carlyle, plays Eli Wallace, a total slacker who just happens to be an utter genius with anything he puts his mind to—mathematics, computers, video games. A lack [of] confidence has left him with an acerbic sense of humor.”

Born January 17, 1979, Blue is 29 years old and is portraying a character who in the casting breakdowns is supposed to be between the ages of 20 and 25. Eli is a social outcast, does not think of himself as good looking, comes from a broken home, and claims that he has no friends and that the only person who cares about what happens to him is his mother. He supposedly dropped out of school to play video games all day, every day, but is somehow given access to one of the most classified projects in the world when he joins the Ninth Chevron Project (not necessarily the official name, but describes the project within the Stargate Program dealing with the use of the ninth chevron on the Stargate). He’s familiar with a computer game that simulates the control consoles found on the Ancients’ long-abandoned starship Destiny. During a tour of the off-world base that is home to the Ninth Chevron Project, the base is attacked and Eli and others flee through the Stargate and end up on Destiny far from home with no known way to get back to Earth.

To learn more about Blue, visit his profile at IMDb. (His official website is under construction.)

Ausiello concludes, “I’m ecstatic for David, a genuinely decent guy who displayed real star potential on Betty.”

Creative consultant Joseph Mallozzi indicated in his weblog that further casting announcements will come soon.

Sci Fi Author John Scalzi Joins SGU Team

The award-winning science fiction novel author John Scalzi has joined the Stargate Universe team as a creative consultant. In his blog entry yesterday, Joseph Mallozzi mentioned he was meeting Scalzi for dinner. Today, Scalzi has announced the reason for the dinner in his own blog entry:

The reason I’m in Vancouver, aside from having dinner at Fuel last night with Joseph Mallozzi, can now be revealed: I have a new gig as Creative Consultant for the upcoming Stargate: Universe television series.[…]

To answer questions that immediately come to mind: What “creative consultant” means in this case is to assist the producers and directors in shaping the direction of the series, to offer technical writing suggestions and advice, and basically to be useful when they want another point of view on something; it’s a background rather than foreground sort of job.[…]

Yes, the producers and writers are very smart folks who have a definite idea of what they want SGU to be, and I think it’s a good and intriguing idea with lots of interesting possibilities, which is why I signed on.[…]

Joe Mallozzi and others on the Stargate production staff, as well as actor David Hewlett, have publicly declared themselves big fans of Scalzi’s works, notably The Android’s Dream and Old Man’s War and its sequels. Visit his Amazon.com store for a complete listing.

Mallozzi also chose Scalzi’s The Android’s Dream as one of his “book of the month club” selections, and Scalzi stopped by to answer fans questions about the book.

Speaking personally and editorially, this is another big coup for SGU, after the casting of Robert Carlyle. Scalzi’s works are engaging, fast-paced, funny, and intensely imaginative. Scalzi’s influence promises to be a creative boon to the SGU production.

Look to Mallozzi’s blog tonight for what are sure to be more details on the deal, and the dinner.

Stargate Universe is due to start principal photography February 4. To-date, the only cast announcement that has been officially released is that of Scottish actor Robert Carlyle, who is to play one of the series’ leads, Dr. David Rush. Mallozzi promises more information concerning the rest of the cast will be released soon.

SGU Spoilers: Series Premiere "Air"

Solutions has obtained two pages of the writer’s draft for the series premiere of Stargate Universe, “Air”. The story is a three-parter, but creative consultant Joseph Mallozzi indicated that he believes that the Sci Fi Channel will broadcast only the first two parts as a two-hour premiere and save the third part for the following week’s installment. Currently, “Air” is set to begin filming February 4 and is slated for a July release.

“Air” is being penned by Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright, the creators and showrunners of the new television series. Most likely Andy Mikita is the director, but this has not been confirmed. Mikita, however, recently joined Cooper on a scouting trip to New Mexico to find a possible filming location for an alien planet.

If you’re adverse to spoilers, you should stop reading this article here.

Some of the information below is a combination of the new script pages and previously-released character breakdowns, press releases, and auditions sides. Solutions has gathered most of the details in the Stargate Universe Guide in the Stargate Wiki. The following is our take on the information presented thus far and it should also be noted that all spoilers are subject to change as the series itself is in production.

Col. Everett Young is the commander of an off-world base. Formerly a commander of an SG team, Young requested to serve the rest of his commission on Earth two years ago when he married Hailey, but was given this base as a temporary command. This secret off-world base appears to be the key location for the Ninth Chevron Project (not known to be the official name for the project, but is used herein for clarification).

Robert Carlyle is Dr. David Rush

The Ninth Chevron Project is under the control of the International Oversight Advisory (IOA) because it is part of the Stargate Program. It also appears to have been underway for quite some time, as there have already been some simulations of the control consoles written under the guise of a “game”. Dr. David Rush is familiar with the Destiny‘s control systems and with the Ancient language, but his programming team used a more rudimentary form of the Ancient language when they created the simulation “game”. Gamer Eli Hitchcock is familiar with the simulation, but only recently was allowed to see the actual consoles. Hitchcock claims to have dropped out of school to play video games “24/7”, so how he got involved with the Ninth Chevron Project isn’t clear.

The United States has a governmental committee headed by Senator Walker. The Senator brings in a contingent of aides with him to tour the base, including his daughter Chloe, who wishes to follow in her father’s footsteps. As far as the IOA is concerned, representative and accountant Camille Wray is present.

During this visit, the base comes under attack (assailant is currently unknown). Young orders non-combatant personnel to their designated safety areas and the military personnel to their battle stations. Young also orders Lt. Jared Scott (formerly known as Lt. Jared Nash) to escort the Senator, his entourage, and Eli to safety.

Apparently, the attack on the base is so severe that everyone who can evacuates to the Destiny. Dr. David Rush might have done something during this time that “screws” things up so bad that he is not trusted when another emergency situation arises.

Corridor Hub of Destiny

This emergency situation appears to play into the title of the episode, “Air”. While Scott and Marine Sergeant Ron Stasiak are leading crew members Henry and Brody down a corridor on the Destiny, they hear a heated argument between Eli and Rush in a “control interface room”. Rush is doing something at a control panel that Eli doesn’t agree with, and Eli shouts at Rush to stop. Stasiak and Scott enter the room to determine if they should allow Rush to continue his work. This is when Rush tells Eli that the game isn’t an exact copy of the Destiny‘s consoles. Eli doesn’t trust that Rush is doing the right thing and implores him to stop before he overloads the system and “screws” them again. Rush insists that he must reset the life support system so that oxygen will return to the proper levels. If he doesn’t do the reset, he stresses that the oxygen will fall below the critical level and the crew will soon lose the ability to think clearly. Stasiak wants to shoot Rush, but Scott orders him to stand down.

Bridge of the Ancient Shuttle

The premise of Stargate Universe is that the Destiny is on a course that the stranded crew cannot alter. They are stranded in the far reaches of the universe, cut off from Earth. They have a Stargate in the center of the ship, as well as an Ancient Shuttle, which they can use to visit planets that are nearby. But leaving the ship is a risk because the Destiny could take off at any moment on its preset course to visit Stargates previously seeded on distant planets and leave the away party behind with no means of rejoining the crew.

Sometime during the first two episodes, Senator Walker, Chloe’s father, is killed tragically. Unfortunately, there are no medical doctors among the stranded crew on the Destiny, and only Captain Tamara Johanson (aka Jon) is left to perform medical procedures, but she’s merely a medic. She also must serve as the crew’s psychologist to help people deal with their new situation.

Robert Picardo is Richard Woolsey

Stargate‘s Robert Picardo indicated that it might be possible that Richard Woolsey will be present in some capacity as an IOA representative and the commander of Atlantis. “I have already been approached by producer Brad Wright and I told him I would be delighted to do the show,” he told Pop Culture Zoo.

Woolsey is also set to appear in the Stargate Atlantis movie, so hopefully he won’t be killed when the base is attacked. Apparently, Camille Wray is to be the only surviving IOA representative among the stranded crew and as “the highest ranking member of that body left stranded on the ship, she has a false sense of importance and superiority to the other military and civilian population along with a stubborn way of asserting it.”

Brad Wright himself indicated that “Mmmmaybe” they’ll have characters from SG-1 in the premiere much like the time Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks reprised their roles for “Rising”, the premiere of Stargate Atlantis. One could see how having Major General Jack O’Neill or Dr. Daniel Jackson to kick off the newest addition to the Stargate franchise would help draw in long-time fans. Amanda Tapping and Christopher Judge might not be allowed to appear in the premiere because of certain legalities that prevented their appearances in “Rising”, but they could appear later on in the show, as they did in Atlantis.

Dr. Daniel Jackson with Dr. Rodney McKay on Atlantis

Will Daniel and Rodney be seen in SGU?

Mallozzi said, “Brad and Robert pitched out a clever little element that actually makes it very possible to see the likes of Daniel Jackson or Rodney McKay on SGU.” If not in the premiere, these two characters could be seen using the Ancient long-range communications device to “swap bodies” with someone on the stranded crew. This technology exists on the Destiny and has been seen to have originated from the time before the Ancients even set foot in the Milky Way millions of years ago (when they lived in their home galaxy and were known as the Altera). A different version of the technology was present in Pegasus from the time the Ancients lived there. It is possible that those stranded on the Destiny will have a way to go home in an indirect sort of way with the use of these devices. One scenario presented in the audition sides proposes that Chloe and Eli use the technology to interact with people they know on Earth. They use this technology within weeks of being stranded, so it is possible that Rush’s team already discovered its existence and configured a way to communicate with people on Earth before they were stranded since some kind of companion device is necessary on both ends of the communications link.

Another scenario presented in the audition sides includes the selection of an Ancient Shuttle crew from among the now-stranded crew members. Rush and Young discuss the talents of various individuals, and determine that Scott is the best possible choice for piloting, TJ (possibly Tamara Johanson) has skills necessary for survival, and Stasiak is a strong, capable protector. It’s not certain that this particular scenario will appear in “Air”, but would be a great way to introduce the Shuttle much like the Puddle Jumper was introduced in “Rising” for Atlantis. Rush and Young are in competition for command of the Destiny. Rush feels that Young took command from him and Young thinks that Rush is a “self-serving prick” and calls him such to his face.

Following the three-part “Air” are the interestingly titled “Fire”, “Water”, and “Earth”. Visit the Stargate Universe Guide in the Stargate Wiki for updates.

The Sci Fi Channel is already advertising the new series when it debuted a teaser during the broadcast of the series finale for Stargate Atlantis. Their tag: “The Journey Home is the Greatest Adventure of All”. (ETA: Link to Sci Fi for video.) If one weren’t up to speed on the premise of Universe, one might think that Atlantis’s return home to the Pegasus galaxy was the focus of the new series, but we know better since that storyline will be picked up with the first Atlantis movie, scheduled to be filmed this summer and making its premiere on the Sci Fi Channel in late 2009 or early 2010.

Spoilers are subject to change as the episodes are in production.

[Images from MGM and Sci Fi.]

Additional Casting Calls for Stargate Universe

Spoiler TV has posted two new casting calls for the new Stargate Universe television series, set to begin filming February 4 with the pilot episode entitled “Air”:

[SENATOR WALKER]
Male. 50s. 60s. Distinguished Senator who is the political oversight to this Stargate project trying to dial the 9th Chevron. Also the proud loving father of Chloe Walker his daughter and political aids… GUEST STAR, 2 EPISODE ARC. PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES. STAR NAMES ONLY.

Senator Walker is the father of series regular Chloe Walker, formerly known as Chloe Carpenter. As indicated in Chloe’s character breakdown, Senator Walker will die a tragic death, possibly during the attack on the base where the Stargate connects to the Destiny through the Ninth Chevron. If they’ve changed the names of the characters, however, it is also possible they’ve changed storylines as well and the good senator might survive to return to the show another day, although the “2-episode arc” detail kind of supports the death scenario. We’ll have to wait and see on that.

[CAMILLE WRAY]
30-50. An accountant with the international oversight body that governs the Stargate program. Now the highest ranking member of that body left stranded on the ship, she has a false sense of importance and superiority to the other military and civilian population along with a stubborn way of asserting it.sptv050769..GUEST STAR, POSSIBLY RECURRING, PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES.

Wray was talked about by creative consultant Joseph Mallozzi in his blog as an important secondary character. His description: “I also think Wray has a lot of potential for getting under Young and co.’s skin. She’s a definite love her or hate her type of character, one who’ll prove the bane to many a series regular, and probably some viewers as well.”

In addition to signing up Robert Carlyle to portray Dr. David Rush, casting has also been completed for Col. Everett Young, Lt. Jared Scott (formerly Nash), Eli Hitchcock, and Marine Ron Stasiak. The possibility also exists that they’ve selected their Chloe and Tamara Johanson (aka Jon) as well. Mallozzi said that casting announcements will be officially released very soon.

Robert Carlyle Tapped to Portray RD Laing in Bio-Pic

Robert Carlyle with the press (2008) Robert Carlyle with fans/press July 2008

Stargate‘s newest star, Robert Carlyle, who’ll be one of the leads in the upcoming Stargate Universe television show, has been tapped to portray Scottish psychiatrist Dr. Ronald David Laing (1927-1989) in a partially biographical film, according to the UK’s Times Online.

The movie revolves around the LSD-prescribing psychiatrist who convinced even James Bond actor Sean Connery to take the hallucinogenic drug to alleviate stress. According to the Times article, “Most of the film will be set between 1967 and 1970 at Kingsley Hall” in east London, where “Laing lived with his patients at a psychiatric community project.”

“For the past 10 years I have wanted to play Laing in a film,” Carlyle said in the article. Both Laing and the actor were born in Glasgow, and Carlyle also brings important life experiences to the part, having lived in hippie communes with his father while growing up.

“Robert had read some of RD Laing’s books, and indeed mentioned that just a few days previously he had seen some of them in a Glasgow bookshop and felt destined to play him,” said Bob Mullan, Laing’s biographer who is also the film’s producer. “As an actor, he has that same mixture of charm, sharp intelligence, sexiness, vulnerability and utter malevolence that is suited to the role. Indeed, depending on your point of view, Ronnie Laing was either a seductive saint or the devil.”

Laing’s son Adrian, 50, a London-based lawyer, commented on Carlyle’s casting, “He has that Celtic fury about him that captures what my father was about. Whenever people have asked me over the years who would be my first choice to play my father, I have always said Robert Carlyle. I have always been very impressed with his work, and he has that Scottish intensity you would need to play the role.”

According to the Times, the film will be made by Gizmo Film Productions and run by Mullan, who is currently securing financing. If all goes as planned, they will start shooting the “part-fictional story” in Glasgow next year.

To read the complete article, visit “Times Online: Robert Carlyle goes from psycho to psychiatrist: The trainspotting star is to play maverick Scottish doctor RD Laing who extolled the benefits of LSD and became a 1960s hero. To find out more about RD Laing, visit University of Penn Review of ‘THE WING OF MADNESS: The Life and Work of R. D. Laing’.

Carlyle is due to arrive in Vancouver soon to begin production on Stargate Universe, which will start principal photography February 4 and make its premiere in July on the Sci Fi Channel.

[Image from IMDb.]

Stargate Universe: Different in Look and Feel

“It says Stargate in the title, but it’s also going to be something that is very different in tone,” Robert C. Cooper, one of the creators of the new series Stargate Universe, said in a recent interview with MGM. “It will certainly have a Stargate in it, but is going to be unlike anything Stargate we’ve ever done before.”

What does this mean to long-time fans of the Stargates? Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis were very successful with their unique tones, especially with the trademark humor and not taking themselves too seriously. Stargate Universe, on the other hand, is being aimed at a “new” audience and has been described as “edgier, darker and younger-skewing than its predecessors.” Creative consultant and writer Joseph Mallozzi described it as “a much more cerebral and mature addition to the franchise.”

SGU has also been described as a character-driven “space opera” (not to be confused with “soap opera”). Set mainly on the Destiny, the show will focus on the sacrifices, survival, and relationships of the stranded crew.

Ensemble Cast

One of the challenges from the start is the casting of enough characters to man the Destiny when it gets stranded far from home. Since the ship will be cut off from Earth, the likelihood of a new rotation of crewmembers boarding Destiny is close to nil. That means that we’ll have to see several primary and secondary characters introduced practically from the start.

The two characters with the highest visibility appear to be Dr. David Rush and Col. Everett Young. Both roles are for men in their 40s. The role of Rush has been cast with well-known actor Robert Carlyle, while the casting for Young has not yet been announced. According to the character breakdowns, the actor portraying Young is to be a “name” actor as well. These two men, one a scientist, the other a military officer, must work together to help the stranded soldiers and civilians survive. They won’t always agree on how things should be done, especially since Rush feels that Young took command away from him when they found themselves in their unique situation.

“Contrary to initial reports, the Rush character is not the leader of the unplanned expedition,” Mallozzi clarified in the December 15 entry of his weblog. “That honor falls to Colonel Everett Young. For now. But things could have a way of changing on board a ship manned by a disparate group with very different agendas…”

This “disparate group” includes “mostly young and desperate explorers,” as co-creators Brad Wright and Cooper described them in the official announcement for the series. The primary members of this ensemble cast will be Capt. Tamara Johanson [aka Jon], Lt. Jared Nash [aka Scott], Marine Ron Stasiak, and civilians Chloe Carpenter and Eli Hitchcock, all in their early 20s.

Mallozzi introduced some of the secondary ensemble members to his weblog readers: “Those of you looking for a more character-centered scifi series need look no further. While Rush is still my fave, I also think Wray has a lot of potential for getting under Young and co.’s skin. She’s a definite love her or hate her type of character, one who’ll prove the bane to many a series regular, and probably some viewers as well. At present, a lot of the supporting players (James, Brody, Henry, Riley, Grearson, Volker, and dear, dear Franklin) hold a lot of promise as well. I’m reminded of Atlantis’s Zelenka and SG-1’s Lorne (hell, even McKay), secondary characters who, over time, developed into fully fleshed-out personalities and fan favorites.”

Alien Worlds

Additional characters that will need to be introduced throughout the series will be representatives of the alien cultures these explorers encounter in the far reaches of the universe. Since the Ancients got distracted with the plague and ascension, they abandoned the Stargate seeding project. The Stargates were planted on distant worlds, but humanity was not, according to Mallozzi. He concluded, “There were explanations for why human civilizations existed within the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies. In the case of SGU, no such explanation exists (that we know of) so the alien civilizations we will be encountering will not be human.”

Non-human aliens have been represented by actors in suits (such as Nem of Oannes), puppets (such as the Asgard), and as computer-generated (CG) images (such as Tyler of the Reol and the leader of the Lost Tribe of the Asgard). “We’ve done limited puppetry … and may explore this avenue. However, for the really out-there-looking creatures, you want to go CG,” Mallozzi explained. Stargate visual effects teams have been nominated for and have won several awards for their CG efforts over the years, including the Gemini in 2003 for SG-1’s “Revelations” that included extensive CG for the Asgard named Heimdall.

And what about the alien worlds themselves? Those who have listened to the DVD commentaries over the years know that locations in the Vancouver area are becoming scarce as developers take over. And the infamous “Medieval Village” set has been torn down. Will we see CG worlds on SGU instead? “Of the first ten episodes broken,” Mallozzi explained, “we have a grand total of 0 forested planets. I’m not saying we won’t, eventually, come across one but, for the time being, the emphasis is on the ship and some locations atypical of Stargate. As a matter of fact, Executive Producer Robert Cooper and Director Andy Mikita are in New Mexico as we speak, scouting a cool-looking alien setting.”

Production

Stargate Universe begins principal photography February 4, 2009, and is scheduled for a July 2009 premiere on the Sci Fi Channel. Even though the opening episode, “Air”, has three parts, only the first two are likely to be shown as a two-hour movie premiere, according to Mallozzi.

Stay with Solutions as we continue to update the Stargate Universe Guide in the Stargate Wiki.

SGU: Robert Carlyle Cast as Dr. David Rush

The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Scottish actor Robert Carlyle has been cast in the role of Dr. David Rush in the new Stargate Universe series. The Reporter calls the role the “lead”.

The article described the series and Carlyle’s role as Rush as follows:

Described as edgier, darker and younger-skewing than its predecessors, “SGU” follows a group of soldiers, scientists and civilians left to fend for themselves when forced through a Stargate after their hidden base comes under attack. The survivors, who emerge aboard an ancient ship missing in the far reaches of space, are led by Dr. David Rush (Carlyle), who works to unlock the ship’s mysteries and return the group home but also might have ulterior motives.

According to the audition sides for Col. Everett Young, Dr. David Rush feels that he should be in command of the expedition that finds itself stranded on the Ancient ship Destiny. Young, however, being the military man, took control of the ill-equipped crew due to their unique circumstances. Rush and Young are at odds concerning how things should be done and will undoubtedly create some of the conflict needed in a dramatic character-driven series.

As far as the rest of the cast, The Reporter said that the Sci Fi Channel was looking for a well-known actor specifically for the Rush character and that fresh faces will play the rest of the ensemble.

“Robert Carlyle brings a depth, intelligence and complexity to his roles, which will fit perfectly with the fresh, new reinvention of this franchise,” Sci Fi original-programming chief Mark Stern is quoted in the article.

The Reporter stated: “Scotland-born Carlyle, best known for his roles in Trainspotting and The Full Monty, recently starred opposite Kiefer Sutherland in Fox’s 24: Redemption. He is repped by Gersh, manager Jon Rubinstein and the U.K.’s Christian Hodell.”

To learn more about Carlyle, visit his IMDb profile. For more information about Stargate Universe, turn to our Guide in the Stargate Wiki.

SGU Casting, Ship Design Close to Final

Stargate Universe creative consultant Joseph Mallozzi reported in his weblog yesterday (December 9), that casting has been “narrowed down” for the new series, so it is possible we’ll hear the announcments soon.

Mallozzi said that SGU co-creators and co-showrunners Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright met with “the gang at MGM” (the studio that controls the budget and contracts). “With the initial auditions and call-backs complete, they’ll be heading into test week on the hunt for a Young, Scott, Eli, Tamara, Chloe, and Stasiak. As for Rush – well, this one should be very interesting.”

All of these names except for Rush were in the initial character breakdowns released in September. The name “Scott” is new to the list, but is actually a rename of Lt. Jared Nash (as Mallozzi posted on November 28). Dr. David Rush is Mallozzi’s favorite new character. It could be that the production team already had an actor or actors in mind for the part of Rush, a “handful” of a character according to Mallozzi, and then had no need to call for an open audition as they did for the other parts.

According to the audition sides for Col. Everett Young, Rush and Young are at odds because Rush felt he should have been in command of the expedition once they ended up stranded on the Destiny far from home. Young, a military man, took command based on “circumstances”. The two men discuss the candidates for a small Ancient Shuttle crew to go on a mission to a planet. Young places each person’s name on a slip of paper for a drawing. Rush agrees that Scott is the best choice for piloting the shuttle, and Stasiak should take Rush’s own spot on the crew because the young marine is strong and protective. They also discuss someone named “TJ” who has the skills necessary for off-world survival. This “TJ” might be Tamara Jon [aka Johanson].

Other characters, who might be recurring characters or “red shirts”, include Wray and Brody.

Mallozzi also said that “it looks like they’ve finally decided on a ship design. More or less.” The Destiny is another major character and is the primary setting for the show. Of course, the Stargate located on the ship figures into the equation, as well.

Principal photography begins February 4, 2009, and the show will premiere with a three-parter entitled “Air” sometime in July 2009 on the Sci Fi Channel. For a one-stop location for SGU information, visit the Stargate Universe Guide in the Solutions Stargate Wiki.