Sci Fi Channel’s newest Stargate incarnation has added two more crew members.
ER vet Ming-Na and Smallville grad Elyse Levesque have come aboard Stargate Universe, sources confirm to me exclusively. The pair join previously announced recruits Robert Carlyle, Lou Diamond Phillips, Alaina Huffman, Justin Louis, David Blue, Jamil Walker Smith and Brian J. Smith.
Sci Fi’s third SG series, which is scheduled to bow in October, follows a diverse group of soldiers, scientists, and civilians who are stranded on an ancient ship in the far reaches of space.
Ming-Na will play Camille Wray, an HR bigwig and the highest-ranking survivor. Levesque, meanwhile, stars as Chloe Armstrong, the wild and immature daughter of a U.S. Senator.
Production on SG-U got underway last week in Vancouver.
Are you on board with the latest additions? Comment away below!
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Wonder what took so long to announce?
Ming-Na is an excellent choice – she has an air of efficiency and single-mindedness that is often associated with government officials. I like what they are doing with the casting of SGU – by having veteran movie and television actors support relative newcomers, the producers can take the time necessary to develop characters.
I felt that the lack of a name or central acting pillar was the downfall of Atlantis – no one was there to hold a scene together as Richard Dean Anderson could and Carlyle likely can. Clearly, this is not shaping up to be Stargate: 90210.
Exellent choice in Ming-Na but I was beginning to believe there were going to be no female cast members. I really don’t understand why it took them over a month to announce the female leads….principal photography began last week!
Really good choices! I, however, am wondering what took so long in naming some female cast. Principal filming started on Feb 18.
Unlike Brennan, above I didn’t feel as though Atlantis didn’t have a really, really highly talented cast, and I felt that any of the 4 principal members ( Tori Higginson, Joe Flanigan, David Hewlet, or Racheal Latreal) could mold a scene, and hold it together. I had zero problems with any of the Stargates so far.
Ok Ming-Na on board has me interested! It says Lou Diamond Phillips is also in the cast! Is that true?! Cause that would be cool as well!
Ok Ming-Na on board has me interested! It says Lou Diamond Phillips is also in the cast! Is that true?! Cause that would be cool as well!
very cool choices for the new stargate show but i still think they should use some of the original cast from sg-1 like michael shanks or amanda tapping or even richard dean anderson.
This is a huge cast. The Stargate writers have proven in the past they can’t handle a large cast and just kill off or dispose of characters they can’t sustain. Hopefully, Universe will be different. I will admit this is one heck of cast. A lot more name talent than we usually get with Stargate series. I’m officially interested in Stargate again.
So that’s why they canceled Atlantis – they needed the money to pay their new cast’s salaries. Sounds interesting, though – I’m looking forward to seeing Ming-Na.
I also agree with Jimmy’s comment about the SG folks not knowing what to do with their characters – let’s hope we don’t end up with another few Lieutenant Fords because of it. This franchise survives on the ability of its talented actors to make the most of the sometimes lackluster material they’re given. Give them something good to work with, please!
You may remember Stargate Universe by its original name, Star Trek: Voyager.
I’m confused by this whole thing. The calibre of actors they’re taking on suggests this show has the potential to be pretty high quality, but if the writing team are the same that has worked on previous series, I struggle to see how that could be possible. These castings are clearly aiming to draw in audiences that would normally ignore a show like this, and it’s working, for now. After hearing about Carlyle’s casting, even my Mum sounded curious – although I’m not sure that grabs the younger demographic they were hoping for with Universe. The main reason I don’t trust all htis is that their press statements all tell us ‘this show will skew younger’, ‘will have longer story arcs’, ‘will be like BSG and Lost’ but that only tells us how it fits into current programming trends. Artistically, they have offered us nothing that sets Universe apart from the other sci-fi shows around, and that makes it impossible to get genuinely excited about. It all just comes across as a bit cynical.
Where’d my comment go?
I now know why Stargate Atlantis was canceled. With a cast like this they couldn’t afford to keep both shows running. It is a shame that they couldn’t fire the people behind the scenes instead of getting rid of Atlantis. I have been through the ringer with the boys at Bridge one to many times to give them a chance with a brand new Stargate. I also heard of Universe before it was called Star Trek Voyager. Also if the spoilers about it are anything to go by then I am doubly not impressed no matter what high named actor they get on the show. These guys fooled me into trusting them one to many times and I have to say that this is one fan who isn’t going to take it anymore.
I now know why Stargate Atlantis was canceled. With a cast like this they couldn’t afford to keep both shows running. It is a shame that they couldn’t fire the people behind the scenes instead of getting rid of Atlantis. I have been through the ringer with the boys at Bridge one to many times to give them a chance with a brand new Stargate. I also heard of Universe before it was called Star Trek Voyager. Also if the spoilers about it are anything to go by then I am doubly not impressed no matter what high named actor they get on the show. These guys fooled me into trusting them one to many times and I have to say that this is one fan who isn’t going to take it anymore.
Ming-Na deserves a better role than this!! WHY? WHY, MING-NA, WHY??? You went from Joy Luck Club to Mulan to ER to…STARGATE UNIVERSE? This is disappointing to all fellow asians!
I can’t stand Ming-na! They dropped the ball cancelling Atlantis for Voyager Rip-off Pt. 2!
As a big fan of all the “gates”, I’m very excited to have Ming Na and Lou D. Phillips on the cast and am hopeful that the writers will provide great storylines for these wonderful actors to work with. I am wondering because was very pleased with Atlantis (and sad to see it end) and had heard that the producers wanted to go for a youger audience with this new show, but am not sure that this cast fits that, unless they plan to emphasize the younger actors more than the older, but then they wouldn’t need bigger name actors for those roles…
Er, Elyse Levesque played who on Smallville?
Great casting! how about a scoop in Ask Ausiello??
Most likely they will bring on the big names and they will be gone by the end of the first season. They are here to bring in the audience but will prove to be to expensive to keep. I have no interest in this show but loved SG Atlantis. I guess I am not in the demographic they want.
i think that they should just have gotten richard dean anderson back. hes the best actor that has ever been in the stargate series! just forget ming na, and get the old jack o’neill or o’neil. depends on his mood
you may remember lou diamond phillips from his last role, admiral william adama on BSG.
Thanks for the updates on SGU! I am going to really miss SGA, so I hope SGU can fill the void.
Thanks for the announcement.
Even with these new cast members I can’t bring myself to watch this one. I think I’ve left the Stargate franchise for good, after how badly they treated the fans with the SGA cancellation.
Had to Google Elyse to find out who she played. She was the Luthercorp employee that got infected by Brainiac in goo form, and Lana was keeping her in a lab. It was back in 2007.
I’m still pissed off about the cancellation of Atlantis and Voyager v.2 hasn’t grabbed my interest. I’ll give it a try — a few episodes — but if it is a rehash of Voyager, I’m outta here and will enjoy my DVDs of SG-1 and Atlantis.
Let us not judge SG-U until we’ve seen the first few episodes! The most probable reason for the cancellation of SG-A was actors salaries. After 5 successful seasons, most actors ask for a sizable raise. Sci-Fi Network could probably not afford it. Also, IMHO the writers were getting a bit worn out with the premise.
I agree, Atlantis had more characterisation than SG-1 but ultimately it gave in to standalone fatigue – there are only so many new adventures, the baddies started to descend into pantomime, and they never seemed to have to guts to extend storylines beyond a couple of episodes.
I love Ming-Na, she’s beautiful intelligent and downright sexy. Not only that she can do comedy as well as drama!
I still think this is going to be Stargate 90210. Not a lot of adult cast members, just the twentysomething crowd. I will watch the premiere and see what happens from there.