he Sci Fi Channel’s two newest offerings, Riverworld and The Phantom (based on the comic book and, as far as we can tell, completely different from the movie starring Billy Zane), have found their leads. For Riverworld, based on Philip Jose Farmer’s series of fantasy novels, former Battlestar Galactica star Tahmoh Penikett and Smallville 1-7 DVD’s Laura Vandervoort will play the show’s leads, a war correspondent and his wife who both die and are resurrected on Riverworld, a mysterious world populated by everyone who has ever lived (and died) on Earth.
Meanwhile, THR’s Live Feed also reports that relative unknown Ryan Carnes (pictured, right) has been cast as the lead in the Sci Fi Channel’s resurrection of the Phantom comic book character. The cable net will re-introduce the purple tights wearing hero to the world in a four-hour movie intended as a backdoor pilot for a TV series. In the pilot, Isabella Rossellini will guest star as The Phantom’s nemesis, Lithia. Cameron Goodman and Sandrine Holt have also been cast on the show.
Penikett and Vandervoort, meanwhile, will be joined by Alan Cumming, who will guest star on the four-hour movie as The Caretaker. Also in the cast are Jeananne Goossen and Mark Deklin.
The casting of Penikett in Riverworld may be a tad concerning to fans of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, as Penikett is also the leading man of that show. If he’s already signed on to star in a new TV series, it stands to reason that Helo doesn’t think his “other” show is going to get a second season. Then again, maybe he’s just a busy boy.
Vandervoort, meanwhile, is most famous for playing Supergirl on the CW’s Smallville 1-7 DVD. As you can tell from the pic below, she filled out that role quite awesomely.
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