Dennys/Ilic/Syfy
Days after the series was renewed, lead characters appeared at a packed panel in Toronto to talk about the 13 more episodes on the way.
The first season finale for Syfy's Dark Matter had the Raza crew going from unified team to betrayal as Six was revealed to be the traitor.
So hundreds of die-hard fans in Toronto on Thursday for Fan Expo Canada heard three of the seven central cast members of Dark Matter -- Anthony Lemke, Jodelle Ferland and Alex Mallari Jr. -- regale fans with war stories from the rookie season, and tease the upcoming second cycle from the show's creators, Stargate's Joe Mallozi and Paul Mullie.
Dark Matter during the rookie season followed the crew of a derelict spaceship awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board. Facing threats at every turn, they had to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, betrayal and hidden secrets.
The series, renewed for a second cycle by Syfy, but not yet greenlit in Canada by the Space cable channel, comes from Lost Girl producers Prodigy Pictures.
Here are the four biggest reveals from the 2015 Fan Expo Canada event.
1. The lead actors didn't learn who the traitor was until the final day of shooting.
Each of the lead cast were invited by wardrobe to mock fittings of the traitor mask to throw everyone off the scent. "Our puppet masters went to everyone person and said 'you have to have a secret fitting, and we would show up and try on the traitor mask. So we're thinking, 'oh my God, I'm the traitor.'" Mallari Jr., who plays Four, recounted.
Jodelle Ferland, who plays Five, added Malozzi only revealed the identity of the traitor after a mock process of elimination. "Just before the final scene literally, before we shot the last scene, Joe (Malozzi) made a big deal of it, and he'd walk up to each person and say 'it's... not you.'"
2. A traitor in their midst will change everything on the Raza in the second season, including the relationship between Five and Six (Roger Cross).
"Who ever the traitor was going to be, we knew everything would change," Ferland told fans. "They (Five and Six) were supposed to be friends, and that's not what friends do by the regular description. I hope they might be able to have some sort of relationship, but it depends on what his reasoning will be. It might not be possible."
3. David Hewlett has never performed his recurring role as Talbor Calcheck opposite fellow actors.
"I'm looking forward to shooting with him (Hewlett)," Anthony Lemke, who plays Three, told fans. "He shot his stuff on one set, and we weren't allowed to touch him or watch him."
Dark Matter cast members viewed Hewlett's performances on a video screen before following his lead. "We watched and then acted our scenes staring at a green screen," Lemke added.
4. Lemke, who plays Three as Dark Matter's resident villain, looks forward to series fans developing more of a like-hate relationship with his character in the second season.
"I was happy to see that Three was not just an asshole," Lemke said of the rookie season finale. The veteran actor added he enjoys playing a "total jerk," while also walking a fine line between being the character everyone loves to hate, and yet one the audience can empathize with as they see what he endures on the Raza
"That's testament to the writing, it's a wonderful opportunity, and I hope Joe (Malozzi) keeps Three on that line, between at one time being insufferable and at another time being, okay, ugh," Lemke said.
5. Did Mallari Jr.'s boyhood Tae Kwon Do training and third degree black belt came in handy doing head high kicks? Not so much. "John Stead (stunt coordinator) is a great guy to work with, and I did give him some things to work with," he recalled. "But Dark Matter was the first time I'd kicked in a long time, and I pulled a groin muscle," he added.
The second season of Dark Matter, which shoots in Toronto, will debut in 2016.
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