SciFi Casts Riverworld And The Phantom

Sci Fi has found lead actors for Riverworld and The Phantom, its upcoming movie events that will serve as trials for possible new series. Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) and Laura Vandervoort (Smallville) will star in Riverworld. Penikett will play war correspondent Matt Ellman, who is killed along with his fiancee (Vandervoort) but awakens in a mysterious world populated by everyone who has lived on Earth. Alan Cumming is set to guest star as the Caretaker and Jeananne Goossen and Mark Deklin also have been cast.

Ryan Carnes has been cast as the Phantom. In Phantom, Carnes will play the well-known comic book hero, and Isabella Rossellini will guest star as the villainous Lithia, who is overseeing a mind-control experiment. Additional Phantom cast members include Cameron Goodman and Sandrine Holt.

Riverworld and Phantom will air next year as four-hour movies on SciFi. Both are from RHI Entertainment and began production Monday. A third RHI project for the cable network, Alice, will air this year.