As anticipated, the ‘Universe’ team will led by an older veteran officer played by a “name” actor, who is described as being “like the Jack O’Neill of ten years ago, but [whose] edges have tended to sharpen over time.” The rest of the cast of characters will be made up of young men and women, mostly in their early to mid twenties.

Since the show’s cancellation and redirection to TV movies was announced by MGM and the SCI FI Channel last month, viewers from all over the world have been signing online petitions, mailing letters and lemons to the network, and even organizing a protest rally outside the Vancouver, B.C. studio where ‘Atlantis’ is produced.

Fans all want our Stargate to be familiar — that is, we want it to be faithful to and consistent with what has come before. But that doesn’t mean it has to be the same. As much as we like the same, if that’s all we ever got then the franchise would certainly run out of steam. A show that is set on a ship, with a younger vibe and a darker tone — so long as it continues to rely on the Stargate — can tell brand new kinds of stories.

This weekend Nicole de Boer (Deep Space Nine: Ezri Dax) became the latest Trek veteran to jump through to the ‘Gate’ franchise, appearing in Stargate Atlantis. In a new interview with Gateworld the actress talks about the experience as well as her thoughts on her time on Deep Space Nine, and the new Star Trek movie.

Actress Jewel Staite and writer Alan McCullough are among those honored with nominations in the twenty-third annual Gemini Awards, recognizing the best in television produced in Canada. ‘Stargate Atlantis’ received four nominations this year.

Cast and crew of both Stargate series, along with millions of fans worldwide, were shocked to learn of the passing of veteran actor Don S. Davis earlier this summer. The man who brought to life the ‘Stargate SG-1′ character of “General George Hammond” clearly had an effect on the people who met him.

TorrentFreak is reporting that “Atlantis” was the most pirated television show for the week of of Aug. 17-24, unseating the Olympics opening ceremony and “Weeds” as the most popular show downloaded by BitTorrent users. (SyFy Portal points out that downloading shows through unofficial means is illegal, and does cost studios.)

GateWorld was on the scene at this weekend’s Stargate fan convention in Vancouver, GateCon 2008. Here are photos from the first two days!

For the Stargate franchise to enter a new era and attract a new audience, SCI FI network president Dave Howe believes that ‘Universe’ should update its storytelling for a new generation. “The ambition with Universe is to skew it younger than the previous two chapters and fill it with a fresh-faced cast,” he said this week, adding that the producers needed to provide “storytelling that is more for the late 2000s than it is for the 1990s.”

The Atlantis movie will air later in 2009, and will be followed by more adventures from the lost city of the Ancients — if the first is a success. “I can’t predict whether an ongoing series of Atlantis-based movies will prove successful,” producer Joseph Mallozzi said. “However, if the performance of the two SG-1 movies is anything to go by, the audience is out there.”