We told you back in April about Syfy greenlighting The Expanse, a new series based on the a book series of the same name by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S. A. Corey. Syfy felt strongly enough about it that they didn’t put it through “development” and the whole pilot route first; it was ordered straight to series, to air in 2015.

Now they’ve cast the lead, as things continue to move along:

SYFY AND ALCON TV ANNOUNCE THOMAS JANE (HUNG, THE PUNISHER) WILL STAR IN THE EXPANSE, NEW 10-EPISODE SPACE OPERA

BASED ON THE INTERNATIONAL BEST-SELLER, THE EXPANSE WILL PREMIERE ON SYFY IN 2015

NEW YORK – July 14, 2014 – Syfy and Alcon TV today announced that three-time Golden Globe nominee Thomas Jane (Hung, The Punisher) will star as the world-weary Detective Miller, a native of “the Asteroid Belt” between Mars and Jupiter, in The Expanse, the new 10-episode space opera based on the international best-selling book series, premiering on Syfy in 2015.

Miller portrays a detective for a corporate security force operating as the law in The Belt. Ragged, in search of something even he can’t identify, Miller remains a dedicated cop with great instincts who discovers a newfound sense of purpose when he’s put in charge of the investigation into a missing heiress.

Jane received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for Hung. Jane is the lead of three studio movies being released this year: The Veil for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse, Somnia for Relativity Media, and Vice for Lionsgate and Emmett/Furla/Oasis. He also stars in the History mini-series Texas Rising, which is currently in production

Jane’s other notable roles include The Mist, Dream Catcher, Deep Blue Sea, Thin Red Line, Face/Off, 61* and Boogie Nights.

Jane is represented by Paradigm and Jamie Afifi at Ziffren Brittenham

The Expanse is a thriller set two hundred years in the future. The series follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective (Jane) and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

In making the announcement, Bill McGoldrick, Executive Vice President, Original Content, Syfy, said: “Thomas Jane is exactly the type of high caliber actor we hoped this project would attract. The intelligence and nuance he brings to every performance is perfect for the role of Miller.”

Said Sharon Hall, President, Alcon Television: “We knew this material would attract highly skilled actors and could not be happier about having Thomas Jane on board.”

The Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men, Iron Man) wrote the pilot and will continue to serve as writers as well as executive producers. Fergus and Ostby are showrunners alongside fellow executive producer Naren Shankar (CSI, Farscape)

The Expanse is produced by Alcon Television Group (ATG), a division of Alcon Entertainment, and marks the company’s first series order.

Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will serve as executive producers with Hall. Alcon Television executive Ben Roberts will serve as co-producer. Ben Cook will serve as producer. Sean Daniel (Graceland, The Mummy) and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company developed the original pitch, with Fergus and Ostby, and will also executive produce.

Developed with the Sean Daniel Company as a direct-to-series project, Alcon is financing and executive producing the hour-long, 10 episode series, based on the popular New York Times bestselling book series collectively known as The Expanse, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James S. A. Corey). Abraham and Franck will be show producers.

The multi-installment, best-selling book series is published in 17 countries, including China, France, Japan, Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. Book one in the series, “Leviathan Wakes,” was nominated for a Hugo Award as well as a Locus Award, while the second novel, “Caliban’s War” was nominated for a Locus Award.

Jane is represented by Paradigm.

ABOUT ALCON ENTERTAINMENT
Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson founded the Company in 1997 with financial backing from Frederick W. Smith, the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx. Alcon, which is named after a mythological archer and ally of Hercules, has financed and produced, and/or co-financed/produced 23 films to date, including My Dog Skip; Insomnia, starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank and directed by Chris Nolan; The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; P.S. I Love You, starring Hilary Swank; the Academy Award nominated Best Picture The Blind Side, which earned Sandra Bullock a Best Actress Oscar; The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman; the hit family film Dolphin Tale, starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson; Prisoners, the critically acclaimed thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal; and Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp. Alcon’s next release is Dolphin Tale 2, a sequel to the 2011 box-office success that reunites the original cast. Alcon is currently in production on Point Break, a reimagining of the classic action movie, starring Edgar Ramirez.

Alcon Television is currently producing the drama pilot “Hysteria” with Shaun Cassidy and Adam Schroeder for Amazon, as well as, a four-hour mini-series documentary for HBO on the life and times of Frank Sinatra. Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney is directing the series documentary. Executive producers are five-time Oscar nominated producer Frank Marshall (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Bourne” franchise, “Seabiscuit,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Nancy Sinatra and Charles Pignone, and Alcon’s Hall, and Co-founders and Co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.

ABOUT SYFY
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.(Syfy. Imagine Greater.)