Sci-Fi Storm

The Lone Survivor team of Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg will team up again for the big screen (and inflated) remake of the 70s TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.

Now called The Six Billion Dollar Man, it will star Wahlberg as astronaut Steve Austin, who becomes critically injured when a test flight of an experimental aircraft crashes. When he awakes, he discovers that both legs, one arm, and one eye have been replaced by “bionics”, artificial replacements with superhuman capabilities that allow him to run faster, have super strength, and see minute details. In exchange for receiving these replacements, he becomes an agent for the Office of Scientific Intelligence.

A movie adaptation has been batted around for years, including at one point comedic versions with Jim Carrey and Chris Rock rumored.

A few casting additions were made today. First up, Syfy and Universal Cable Productions have cast Stella Maeve (Chicago PD), Hale Appleman (Teeth) and Arjun Gupta (Nurse Jackie) in key roles for the upcoming pilot The Magicians, an adaptation of Lev Grossman’s beloved #1 New York Times best-selling book series, which begins production in New Orleans this December. Acclaimed independent film producer Mike Cahill (I Origins, Another Earth) is signed on to direct.

Stella Maeve will play the beautiful and confident Julia, a wealthy and brilliant Ivy-Leaguer who seems destined for success. But Julia’s future plans are forever altered after she is denied admittance to the mysterious Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy. Unaccustomed to failure, Julia finds life meaningless now that the possibilities of a previously unseen magical world have been denied to her. But she may get another chance to pursue a career in magic when she’s recruited by a secret society. Maeve can currently be seen in a recurring role on the NBC series Chicago PD. She most recently starred in the independent features Dark Summer opposite Keir Gilchrist, All Together Now, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and Independent Spirit Award-winner Starlet. Previously, Maeve co-starred with Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart in The Runaways. Maeve is repped by Paradigm Agency and Principato-Young Entertainment.

Hale Appleman will portray Eliot, a student at the Brakebills who is an odd combination of a preppy with intrinsic coolness. Effortlessly hip, with his air of self-possession, Eliot is accustomed to commanding any clique, and he’s a natural leader of his fellow magical students. He will prove a sometimes frustrating ally in Quentin’s fortunes — and may soon factor into a series of perilous adventures. Appleman played Tobey Cobb in the 2007 film Teeth. He made his film debut in Chad Lowe’s feature Beautiful Ohio, and portrayed cartoonist Judd Winick in Pedro, Nick Oceano’s 2008 film dramatizing the life of AIDS educator Pedro Zamora. He also recurred on NBC’s Smash. His theater credits include Alex Timbers’ The Last Goodbye, which was at the Old Globe in San Diego, and Streamers on Broadway. He is represented by Innovative Artists and D2 Management.

Arjun Gupta will portray Penny, a young man with an edgy look and attitude. He’s deliberately intimidating to Quentin, his new roommate and fellow magic student at Brakebills. A reluctant telepath, he is bedeviled by voices that hint at pathways to other worlds. Gupta played Sam in the first three seasons of Nurse Jackie opposite Edie Falco, and currently recurs on ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder. Gupta is repped by Gersh and Untitled Entertainment.

Also announced is that Bridget Regan, who we loved in Legend of the Seeker and has also appeared in Beauty and the Beast, White Collar and most recently in Jane the Virgin, is joining Marvel’s Agent Carter in a recurring role as Dottie, a small town Iowan girl who will have a big impact on Agent Carter.

Opens December 17th…

When Audrey and other residents are overcome by a mysterious illness, the truth about the Troubles could be exposed to the outside world. Check out the preview below, and tune in for “Morbidity” Friday at 7/6c on Syfy!

As a side note, Syfy announced that WWE Smackdown, which has owned Friday nights for a long time, will move to Thursdays starting January 15th. This will free up the 8-10pm slot on Friday, which could allow Haven to move up to a better slot – it was moved to Friday due to the competition from NFL Thursday night games, but because Smackdown wasn’t going to budge from its slot (it is after all regularly beating all other cable programming), and Z Nation was hitting it big at 10pm, it only left 7pm for Haven. So let’s hope it moves up to 9pm with the switch and Syfy gives it a boost with a catch-up marathon or something.
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Yes, you read that title right – the official title of Episode 7 is now Star Wars: The Force Awakens! That announcement came today along with word that principal photography on it has been completed – which means we might see a teaser sometime soon…

Does the title give us a hint at the plot? Some post-Empire Jedi rebuilding by Luke with a new foe?