Syfy’s Sharknado original movie franchise has, for better or worse, become a summer tradition, especially for Twitter snarkers who like to take jabs at the increasingly outrageous scenarios and cameos in the films. Sharknado 4 (working title) is currently filming, and Syfy has announced initial casting for the followup.
Ian Ziering and Tara Reid will return in their roles as Fin Shepard and April Wexler (apparently the film will reveal the outcome of the fan-voted #AprilLives or #AprilDies social campaign). David Hasselhoff, who first showed up in Sharknado 3, will also be back as Gil Shepard, and Ryan Newman will return as Claudia Shepard.
New to the franchise will be:
- Gary Busey (Why’d it take so long to get him? He seems like he’d be a natural fit for this crazy franchise) as Wilford Wexler, April’s father and a lead scientist at Astro-X. Wilford is at the forefront of advances in the field of robotics (maybe this means we’ll be seeing robotic sharks?)
- Tommy Davidson as Aston Reynolds, playboy tech billionaire. Aston is CEO of tech company Astro-X, developers of an energy system that can stabilize the atmosphere and prevent the formation of tornadoes.
- Cody Linley as Matt, Fin and April’s eldest son. After surviving the first Sharknado, Matt finished high school and joined the army.
- Imani Hakim as Gabrielle, Matt’s best friend and a fellow soldier.
- Masiela Lusha as Gemini, Fin’s cousin, who is full of shark-busting attitude.
- Cheryl Tiegs as Raye, Fin’s mother and Gil’s ex-wife.
Syfy also promises a “plethora of additional outrageous and surprising cameos to be announced soon.”
Sharknado 4 takes place five years after the events of Sharknado 3. Fin, his family and the cosmos have been Sharknado-free, but now sharks and tornadoes are being whipped up in places (and ways) least expected.
Given how Sharknado 3 really upped the ante on craziness, even taking us into outer space, it will be interesting to see how Syfy tops that when Sharkando 4 airs in July of this year.
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Photo: Syfy