For All Mankind Spinoff Series Adds Award-Winning Actor To All-Star Cast

The upcoming spinoff of the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind, Star City, has just added its latest cast member. The main sci-fi series tells an alternative story wherein the Soviet Union actually beat the United States in the race to the Moon, causing the space race to continue for decades. The show was co-created by Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert, and features a leading cast including Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Wrenn Schmidt, Krys Marshall, and Cynthy Wu. Following the success of For All Mankind, Star City was announced in April 2024.

As per Variety, Star City has now added a new cast member, Anna Maxwell Martin. Martin will play a Soviet woman named Lyudmilla in the spinoff. The character is described as “the head of the KGB surveillance department at Star City.”

What This Means For Star City

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Martin joins a Star City cast that already includes Rhys Ifans. Ifans, who is known more recently for his role in the hit Max series House of the Dragon, was the first announced cast member in the series. Like Martin, Ifans would also play a character in the Soviet space program. His role, unlike Lyudmilla, has yet to be named, but he will be the Chief Designer. Star City will explore the same alt-historical setup, but this time from the Soviet perspective. While there will likely be non-Soviet characters involved, the initial casting focuses on filling these main roles.

Martin has become a staple British performer in the TV space. She has been nominated for four BAFTA TV Awards, winning Best Actress for both Bleak House and Poppy Shakespeare. Her most recent work includes parts in Gavin & Stacey and Ludwig. Ifans is also a BAFTA nominee who won a TV Award in 2005 for Not Only But Always. The addition of Martin means that the For All Mankind spinoff is starting strong by choosing award-winning cast members. On the other hand, For All Mankind season 5 has already been renewed, but how it will be released alongside its spinoff is currently unknown.

Our Take On This Star City Casting

Star City Could Get More Recognition For Its Cast

This latest casting news is a hopeful sign for the future of the For All Mankind franchise. While the flagship series has received strong reviews, it has not gotten a ton of awards recognition for its cast members. Star City could change this through its casting of such high-profile performers. If Star Citycontinues on this casting trend, the spinoff series has the potential to receive even more widespread acclaim than the original series and help maintain audiences' interest in the franchise as a whole.

Source: Variety