Oh sure she’s been in a lot of shows, but the SciFi Mafiosi know her as Darla in Angel and more recently as Stephanie in No Ordinary Family. We are therefore thrilled to tell you that Julie Benz is returning to sci-fi as the female lead in the jointly developing Syfy series and Trion Worlds game Defiance.
The show and online game are set in the future on a war-ravaged Earth where humans and aliens live together. We told you back in January that Grant Bowler (Captain Gault in Lost and Cooter, leader of the werewolf biker gang in True Blood) had been cast as the male lead, boomtown lawman Jeb Nolan. Ms. Benz will be playing Amanda Rosewater, the newly appointed mayor of the town.
Deadline also reports that Tony Curran (Vincent Van Gogh in Doctor Who), Stephanie Leonidas, and Jamie Murray (H.G. Wells in Warehouse 13) have also been cast in the series. Leonidas will play Irisa, an Irathient warrior and adopted daughter of Nolan; Curran will play Datak Tarr, a Castithan; and Murray will play Datak’s wife.
Now don’t panic, all of you who join us in fervently wishing for an H.G. Wells spinoff from Warehouse 13. The last word from W13 showrunner Jack Kenny is that the W13 spinoff was in the very early days of discussion. Syfy is very good about cross-casting actors who work in their shows, so the fact that Jamie Murray has been cast in a Syfy series does not mean that the spinoff is off.
Penned and executive produced by legendary sci-fi TV writer Rockne S. O’Bannon, (Warehouse 13, Alien Nation, seaQuest DSV and Farscape), Defiance will be directed byScott Stewart (Legion, Priest). It is slated to commence production April 2012 in Toronto.
Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a world where humans and aliens must learn to live together on an exotic new Earth that has been transformed by alien terra-forming machines.
Bowler plays Jeb Nolan, the law keeper in a bustling frontier boomtown that is one of the new world’s few oasis of civility and inclusion. Nolan is a former Marine who fought in the alien conflict and suffered the loss of his wife and child in the war. The trauma transformed him into a lone wanderer in the wilds of this new and dangerous world, bringing him to the town where his peacekeeping skills make him a valuable addition this new community.
The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe, evolving together over time to tell an overall story that is more powerful together.
You know that we’ll keep you posted.
