New seasons begin filming in Vancouver

Another year of adventures is underway at The Bridge Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia! The casts and crews of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis reportedly returned today for the first official day of production on the two shows’ ninth and second seasons, respectively.

New cast members Ben Browder and Beau Bridges join SG-1 on Stage 5 this season, alongside Michael Shanks (“Daniel Jackson”) and Christopher Judge (“Teal’c”). With her baby due in just a matter of weeks, Amanda Tapping (“Samantha Carter”) is expected to return to the show for the sixth episode.

Meanwhile, the first five episodes will feature guest star Claudia Black, who reprises her role of the alien bounty hunter Vala (“Prometheus Unbound”). No info is available yet on the storyline for the 3-part season premiere.

Former series lead Richard Dean Anderson (“Jack O’Neill”) will not return as a series regular for the first time in the show’s long history, though he may appear as a guest star in an undetermined number of episodes. Negotiations between the actor and the studio are ongoing.

On Stage 6 Atlantis returns to wrap up the current season’s finale with “The Siege, Part 3.” New cast member Jason Momoa will join the show in “Runner,” expected to be the third episode of the new season.

Executive producer Robert C. Cooper will continue as show-runner on SG-1, and series co-creator Brad Wright will keep the same job on Atlantis. A single writing department will continue to work on both shows, which also includes executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, writer/director Peter DeLuise, supervising producer Damian Kindler, and Atlantis scribes Martin Gero and newcomer Carl Binder (“Before I Sleep”).

Both series will make their premieres this summer on The SCI FI Channel in the U.S., and on Sky One in the U.K. this fall. The production year is scheduled to continue through October 17.