The first look at actress Leela Savasta as Captain Alica Vega is here early, courtesy of executive producer Joseph Mallozzi (blog). The new character is expected to be a recurring guest star in the fifth season of Stargate Atlantis (story).

Vega will make her Atlantis debut in the Season Five premiere, “Search and Rescue.” According to Mallozzi, she will be commanding her own Atlantis recon team by the fourth episode of the season, “Whispers.”

“Captain Alicia Vega, a.k.a. Leela Savasta, was in for her costume fitting this morning and swung by the production offices,” Mallozzi wrote. “She’s a very sweet young lady who was genuinely surprised to learn she’d already become the talk of many a fan forum — without even having shot a scene yet.”

Welcome to Stargate fandom, Leela!

Learn more about the Vancouver-born actress at IMDb and her official Web site, LeelaSavasta.ca. Check out Joseph Mallozzi’s blog for the original post.

Stargate Atlantis airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern (9 Central) on SCI FI Channel in the United States. Season Five goes before cameras next week.