Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Reeve Carney, who originated the role of Peter Parker and Spider-Man for the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, is to play Dorien Grey (sic) in Penny Dreadful, the new eight episode Showtime supernatural series created by Skyfall co-writer John Logan, and produced by Logan’s Desert Wolf Productions and Bond director Sam Mendes.

Carney will be joined by Rory Kinnear, early favourite for the role of the twelfth Doctor and another Skyfall alumnus (he played M’s assistant Tanner), as “a mysterious character of haunting intensity”, and Lone Ranger star Harry Treadaway, playing a version of Mary Shelley’s Dr Victor Frankenstein.

The Bond connection doesn’t end there – Penny Dreadful also stars former 007 Timothy Dalton, as well as Casino Royale Bond girl Eva Green. Dalton is Sir Malcolm, a hardened African explorer on a deeply personal quest. Green will play Vanessa, the only female of the story. According to Showtime, “She’s enigmatic with haunted eyes and utterly composed. She will prove herself a force to be reckoned with and the heroine of the series.”

Pearl Harbor‘s Josh Hartnett will play Ethan Chandler, “a man of action and daring who isn’t afraid of violence. He’s charming and brash, but there are demons behind his eyes. He’s more complicated than he likes to admit.”

Filming on the “pyschosexual horror series” begins this autumn in London.