Between his role as Uther Pendragon on Merlin and his recent appearances in Warehouse 13 this summer, Syfy fans may be used to seeing Anthony Head on the cable network these days, and we could be seeing him there in the future, should things go well for Syfy's Dominion pilot. Anthony Stewart Head is one of a few cast additions to the pilot, which is based on the 2010 film Legion.
We learned back in July that Syfy was developing a TV pilot based on Legion. According to Syfy, the TV pilot is based on the characters from the film and is described as an epic supernatural action drama set 25 years after the events of the movie. The pilot picks up "in the aftermath of a catastrophic war between an army of angels and mankind that has transformed the world." The story follows "the perilous journey of a rebellious young soldier who discovers he’s the unlikely savior of humanity, set against a backdrop of the ultimate celestial battle as it touches down on earth." Given the timeframe, it may be safe to assume that this savior is the the grown version of the unborn baby being protected in the original film, but Syfy's description doesn't actually confirm that. Christopher Egan has been cast to play the role of Alex Lannen in the pilot.
Syfy announced today that Anthony Stewart Head, Roxanne McKee and Luke Allen-Gale have joined the cast, while Shivani Ghai has signed on to guest star in the pilot, which is being produced by Universal Cable Productions and is written by Legion co-writer/director Scott Stewart.
Head has signed on to play David Weel, "the power hungry president of the Senate of Vega (formerly Las Vegas) who is frequently at odds with General Rysen, the city's military leader." He's willing to do whatever he thinks is right if it means protecting the city and his position as leader. Head's recent credits include Merlin and Warehouse 13, but some of us will probably always associate him best for playing Buffy's watcher Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It would be really great to see him back in a lead role of a TV show stateside, so here's hoping things work out for Dominion.
Next up is Roxanne McKee, who's set to play Claire Rysen, "the closest thing that Vega has to a princess." She's the daughter of General Rysen, the man who led mankind to victory against the angels during the Extermination war. Claire is also a member of the highest class in Vega's stratified society. She's described as strong-willed and much tougher than she seems. McKee's recent credits include the recurring role of Doreah, Daenerys' handmaiden in Game of Thrones. IMDB says McKee was born in Canada, but she grew up in England, which explains why her pre-Game of Thrones credits were over in the U.K.
It seems the UK is a recurring theme among the cast here, as Luke Allen-Gale was also trained in London. Allen-Gale's on board to play William Weel, "the scion of Vega's other powerful ruling family. Unlike his cunning politician father David, William is a man of the people and Head of the Church of the Savior." Allen-Gale's credits include The Borgias, Captain America: The First Avenger and the voice-role of Spiller in The Secret World of Arrietty.
Finally, there's Shivani Ghai, who's listed as a guest star for the pilot. She's set to play Arika, a lead diplomat sent from Helena, "a mysterious and militant matriarchal society in what was once Salt Lake City, which maintains a tenuous peace with Vega." Ghai's credits include HBO's Five Days and History's miniseries The Bible.
The character information for this project certainly fills in some of the blanks in this story, which sounds pretty imaginative when we factor in the transformed world and what's mentioned about the cities. In addition to previously cast Christopher Egan, Alan Dale and Tom Wisdom are also on board for the Syfy pilot, which is set to begin filming this month in Cape Town, South Africa.
