Trion Worlds and Syfy are deep into production of their ambitious project to merge the mediums of MMO gaming and television with Defiance. Syfy today announced that production for the television show’s pilot episode is now underway in Toronto. Several cast members for the Defiance television show were announced earlier this year and include names such as Grant Bowler (Lost, True Blood), Graham Green (Dances with Wolves, Maverick), Julie Benz (Dexter, Desperate Housewives), Stephanie Leonidas (Whitechapel), Tony Curran (Pillars of the Earth, X-Men First Class) and Jamie Murray (Dexter, Warehouse 13).

The ambitious venture will attempt to intertwine the online gaming world of the Defiance MMOG with the television show, allowing events in one to influence events in the other, with both mediums driving the overall story.

The Defiance television show is targeting a release window of spring 2012. Given that the show and the game are set to evolve together, it's possible that Trion will be targeting a similar window for the Defiance MMOG launch. Stay tuned and we'll update you when more details become available.

SYFY’S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED DEFIANCE™ COMMENCES PRODUCTION IN TORONTO

Visionary Production Team Assembles for Groundbreaking Venture Set to Launch in Spring 2013

NEW YORK, NY – April 25, 2012 – Defiance TM , the revolutionary transmedia event launching in Spring 2013, has commenced production on the series pilot in Toronto, ON. An unprecedented partnership between Syfy and Trion Worlds , Defiance is the first-ever convergence of television and Massive Multiplayer Online gaming, featuring an interconnected world and storylines that will co-exist on both platforms.

Defiance stars Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr), Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr), Graham Greene (Rafe McCawley), Mia Kirshner (Kenya) and Fionnula Flanagan (Nicky).

The cast also features Jesse Rath as Alak Tarr, Justin Rains as Quentin McCawley, Nicole Munoz as Christie McCawley, Dewshane Williams as Tommy and Peter MacNeill as Clancy.

The pilot is directed by Scott Stewart ( Legion, Priest ) and written/executive produced by Rockne O’Bannon ( Farscape ), Kevin Murphy ( Desperate Housewives , Caprica ; Hellcats ) & Michael Taylor ( Battlestar Galactica ). Kevin Murphy serves as showrunner. Defiance is produced by Universal Cable Productions.

Other mavens rounding out the first-rate production team and lending their creative prowess to the ambitious project are visual effects supervisor Gary Hutzel ( Battlestar Galactica , Caprica ), alien language and culture consultant David J. Peterson ( Game of Thrones ), music supervisor Bear McCreary ( The Walking Dead , Battlestar Galactica ), writers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson ( Falling Skies , Battlestar Galactica ) and three-time Oscar-winning costume supervisor Colleen Atwood ( Alice in Wonderland , Chicago , Memoirs of a Geisha , Edward Scissorhands ).

Defiance is a visionary enterprise in collaboration with Trion Worlds , with the Syfy series and Trion’s multi-platform shooter MMO poised to debut simultaneously. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a completely transformed planet Earth, inhabited by the human and alien survivors of a universal war. Forced to co-habitate, the disparate group struggles to build a new society among the devastation. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story.

About Syfy

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site ( www. Syfy .com < http://www.Syfy.com > <http:// www.syfy.com/ > ), and a portfolio of adjacent business ( Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. ( Syfy . Imagine greater.)

About Universal Cable Productions


Universal Cable Productions creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across multiple media platforms and outlets for domestic and international distribution. UCP produces “Covert Affairs,” “Fairly Legal,” “In Plain Sight,” “Psych,” “Royal Pains” and “Suits” for USA; “Alphas,” “Defiance,” “Eureka” and “Warehouse 13” for Syfy; and "I Just Want My Pants Back" for MTV. Universal Cable Productions is a division of NBCUniversal.

About Trion Worlds

Trion Worlds is the leading publisher and developer of premium games for the connected era. Powered by a breakthrough development and publishing platform, Trion is revolutionizing the way games are developed, played and sold. Trion’s world-class team delivers high-quality, dynamic and massively social games operated as live services across the biggest game genres and devices; including the critically acclaimed blockbuster, Rift ™ and the highly-anticipated End of Nations™ and Defiance™. Trion is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., with offices in San Diego, Calif., Austin, Texas, and at Trion Worlds Europe in London, UK.

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