Back in October and November we broke the news that award-winning British Blacklister Georgina Campbell was cast in her US TV debut, Krypton, for Syfy Channel. At that time, only a pilot was planned. However, it was recently announced that Syfy have since picked it up to progress to series!
Campbell plays the young female lead, Cadet Lyta Zod, a member of Krypton’s military caste and the daughter of a general, Alura Zod. She becomes embroiled in a forbidden romance with series lead, Superman’s grandfather, Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), whose ancestral House of El has been shamed and ostracised. This compels him to fight to redeem the family honour and save his world from chaos two generations before the destruction of the planet which eventually results in his grandson, Kal-El’s journey to Earth, where he becomes Clarke Kent/Superman!
Campbell was the first casting announcement made, followed by Cuffe. Then, much to our delight, fellow British Blacklisters Ann Ogbomo and Aaron Pierre were announced as series regulars. Ogbomo plays Primus Alura Zod, Lyta’s mother, a leader of Krypton’s military guild, and an extremely tough and demanding training officer. Pierre plays Cadet Dev-Em, who is under the command of Primus Alura Zod.
Based on DC Comics characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Krypton is produced by Phantom Four in association with Warner Horizon Television. David S. Goyer and show-runner Damian Kindler executive produce Krypton for WBTV and Goyer’s Phantom Four. Colm McCarthy serves as co-executive producer and will direct the pilot from a story and teleplay by Goyer & Ian Goldberg.
Rumour has it, that in going to series some recasting may occur. But, we hope that our Brits are secure, since superhero/comic book-based series like this satisfies one of the four sub-genres in which Syfy plans to grow its original series programming.
The first look trailer was unveiled at NBC Universal’s upfront presentation, but not to the general public. It has since been leaked…Â and deleted. Apparently it started by teasing that before Superman’s story, there was so much more to know about the House of El. There are glimpses of Superman’s grandpa, Seg-El, and the planet Krypton reassembling in front of a giant sun.
There are also hints of war brewing on Krypton between the different classes – castes, in the comics – with scientists ruling at the top, and workers at the bottom, and smaller explosions going off along the way. At the end, our hero is given a small, black cylinder shaped like Superman’s “S” symbol. Some blood is spilled as he presses the cylinder into a larger “S” symbol, which fills with blood and becomes the logo we all know and love, yet is also very close to the shield used in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman V Superman (2016). Intriguing!
Campbell is well known on our screens after winning the BAFTA Television Award for Leading Actress in 2015 for, Murdered by My Boyfriend (2014); E4’s Tripped (2015); Channel 4’s Flowers (2016); Sky 1’s After Hours (2016), and ITV’s season 3 of Broadchurch (2017). She is also in Guy Ritchie’s latest feature, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017).
Ogbomo has appeared in ITV’s Bouquet of Barbed Wire (2010) and feature films World War Z (2013) and Honeytrap (2015), which enjoyed a 2016 US release.
LAMDA graduate Pierre has appeared in ITV’s Prime Suspect prequel Tennison (2017) and Jez Butterworth’s Britannia (2017) for Amazon Studios and Sky Atlantic.
Congratulations to all involved!
More on Krypton:
[1] Up-And-Coming Brits Ann Ogbomo & Aaron Pierre Cast In ‘Krypton’ Alongside Georgina Campbell
[2] Georgina Campbell Lands US TV Debut as Female Lead In Superman Prequel ‘Krypton’