Casting for the roles of series regulars began in Vancouver and Los Angeles early January.  Atlantis Executive Producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper are looking to fill the following roles:

MAJOR JOHN SHEPPARD, 35-40
Maverick gifted pilot, a Southern gentleman with gold ole' boy charm and a closet mathematical genius.  Sheppard is described as having a wry sense of humour and to pretend to be dumber than he really is.  He's also a bold fighter, a man of great common sense morality and possesses the rare gene which allows him to interact physically with Ancients technology.

DR. ELIZABETH WEIR, 35
Described as attractive, brilliant and the master of 5 languages, Weir will be introduced to Stargate viewers in Stargate SG-1 season 7 finale The Lost City, portrayed by actress Jessica Steen.  However, the role is to be re-cast for Atlantis.  Weir chose to battle the establishment from within, is known to be anti-military and has extensive experience as an international negotiator.  She is the civilian head of the Atlantis outpost.

TEYLA EMMAGAN, 20-25
Beautiful and soulful, native of a post-apocalyptic world which suffers depradation by the Wraith.  Teyla is introduced as a love interest for Sheppard, with UST intended between the two throughout the season.  She's a leader for her people and a strong fighter whose knowledge of the people and worlds the Atlantis team will be visiting proves invaluable.

LIEUTENANT AIDEN FORD, 25
Boyishly good-looking and possessing of an ebullient sense of humour, Ford volunteers for the Atlantis mission.  He's described as a good man in a tight spot, who keeps a cool head and a finger on his trigger.

DR. BENJAMIN INGRAM, 40-50
A brilliant African-Canadian scientist, expert in interfacing human and Ancient technologies.  He is largely responsible for the discoveries which make the Atlantis mission possible, despite not possessing the rare gene that would have allowed him to interact with Ancient technology.

COLONEL MARSHALL SUMNER, 45-40
Described as a hardened, autocratic officer with a hair-trigger temper.  Sumner suffers from being second-in-command to the civilian Dr. Elizabeth Weir but is an inspired commander who is committed to the mission.

Other roles to be cast for the pilot include Dr. Beckett, a medical doctor who also possesses the rare gene, and Dr. Grodin, a civilian scientist, Bates, Parker and Smitty, members of the away team, Wex, Halling and Toran, aliens and compatriots of Teyla.

Sources are speculating that the principal cast has been short-listed.  However, a revised casting call went out for the principal role of Teyla Emmagan early in February, and a revised casting call went out for the principal role of Lt. Aiden Ford early last week.  It begins to look doubtful that a complete principal cast will actually be in place as the Atlantis pilot goes into production, slated to begin Monday 23rd February. 

SG-1 stars Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks will reprise their roles as General Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson in "Rising", appearing in what Michael Shanks referred to during his Shanks-Judge tour appearances as the first two acts.  Shanks and Anderson remain the only two actors confirmed to appear.  SCI FI and MGM have yet to make any announcements about the regular cast for the new series.

With renewed calls for the casting of a principal actor at this late date, it seems likely that Atlantis itself may suffer production delays which could in turn impact on Season 8 of Stargate SG-1, already pushed back to begin 3rd March to accommodate filming of the Atlantis opener "Rising".  Concurrent productions do offer the advantages for the studio, network and producers of economies of scale but they can also compound production difficulties, with two series affected instead of one.  Fans are naturally expressing concern about the Stargate SG-1 cast, characters and show they've invested seven years in.  No one wants to see SG-1's last season suffer through Atlantis' first season teething problems.

SCI FI and MGM have been lucky to maintain the level of secrecy they have surrounding the Atlantis production; untimely Internet revelations can kill print stories and the greater publicity they bring.  On this occasion, it appears the studio and the network are going to beat resourceful fans to the punch.

For cast and indeed any other Stargate: Atlantis announcements, all we can do is watch this space...

STARGATE: ATLANTIS PRODUCTION

Pegasus Productions, Inc.
Exec. Producer: Brad Wright, Robert Cooper, N.John Smith
Directors:Various
DOP: Andreas Paulsen
PM: George Horie
PC: Boris Ivanov
LM: Doug Brons
ALM: Amy Edelson, Heather Byrne-Vidan
PD: Bridget McGuire
Casting: Stuart Aikins, Sean Cossey
Extras: Sandra Caudwell
Publicist: Brigitte Prochaska
Schedule: Feb 23 - Oct 21/04
2400 Boundary Rd,
Burnaby, V5M 2Z3

OFFICIAL LINKS

MGM Atlantis website
SCI FI.com Atlantis website