SKY1 HD welcomes the highly anticipated next chapter in the Stargate franchise, SGU: Stargate Universe, starring Robert Carlyle

This October, Sky1 and Sky1 HD are set to launch the new addition to the popular Stargate brand, SGU: STARGATE UNIVERSE

Executive produced and written by the franchise’s founders Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, the series will take on a dynamic new direction, promising be edgier in tone and appealing to longtime Stargate fans and first-time viewers alike.

Robert Cooper commented: “We looked really hard at what we loved about Stargate and what we thought the fans really loved. SGU is darker and grittier, but at its core, it really is still Stargate. It’s contemporary; it’s the people from here and now in these fantastic situations. It’s not all going to be depressing and dark!”

SGU will follow a team of explorers headed up by Dr Nicholas Rush (BAFTA winner and Emmy® nominee Robert Carlyle, 28 Weeks Later, 24: Redemption). They must fend for themselves as they are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. The desperate survivors emerge aboard an ancient ship, which is locked on an unknown course and unable to return to Earth. Faced with meeting the most basic needs of food, water and air, the group must unlock the secrets of the ship’s Stargate to survive. The danger, adventure and hope they find on board the Destiny will reveal the heroes and villains among them.

Robert Carlyle’s casting hails a very different direction for the franchise. Robert Cooper commented: “When we first spoke to Bobby on the phone, he said, ‘I don’t see myself as the typical Stargate guy’, and we said, ‘we’re trying not to make the typical Stargate’. We want an actor who is not the hero and not the villain, and more of a very flawed and complex person.”

The series also stars Lou Diamond Phillips (Che, La Bamba) as Colonel Telford, Ming-Na (ER) as human resources executive Camile Wray, David Blue (Ugly Betty) as slacker Eli Wallace, Brian J. Smith (Law & Order) as Lieutenant Matthew Scott, Justin Louis (Saw V) as Colonel Everett Young, Elyse Levesque (Smallville) as the daughter and aid of a US Senator Chloe Armstrong, Alaina Huffman (Smallville) as Master Sergeant Tamara Johansen and Jamil Walker Smith (Hey Arnold!) as Master Sergeant Ronald Greer.

STARGATE UNIVERSE also welcomes back Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis favourites Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping.

STARGATE UNIVERSE promises to continue the compelling legacy the Stargate series has created when it launches on Sky1 and Sky1 HD on October 6, 2009.

Enjoy the show then purchase previous seasons of Stargate Universe at Play.com

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