Two actors who know a little something about the otherworldly are joining the cast of Supergirl for its upcoming fifth season.
The X-Files’ Mitch Pileggi and Stranger Things’ Cara Buono will play ancient aliens on the series in a recurring capacity, Deadline reports.
Pileggi will play Rama Khan, an alien who can control the elements of fire, water, earth, and air. The character is described as arrogant and willful. He’s used his powers to protect the Earth from humanity for centuries, but now his goals will put him in conflict with Supergirl and Lena Luthor.
Meanwhile, Buono will play the alien Gamemnae who has been protecting Earth from humanity’s follies along with others of her kind for ages. Her ultimate goal is to conquer humans using technology. The character is described as clever, ruthless, and able to see ten steps ahead of her opponents. Needless to say, her goals will put her at odds with Supergirl.
Both characters come straight from the comics where their powers and goals were tied to the underwater city of Atlantis. They were first introduced in 2002 in a series called JLA, which stands for Justice League of America.
Pileggi is best known for playing FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner on The X-Files and Buono plays Karen Wheeler on the hit Netflix series Stranger Things.
The ancient alien characters the actors will embody fall in line with the theme of the fifth season, which explores the impact of technology on humanity. Supergirl co-showrunner Jessica Queller has dubbed Supergirl’s upcoming season “our Black Mirror season.”
That designation speaks to the dark side of technology and, therefore, seems especially relevant to Buono’s Gamembae and her desire to use technology to control human beings.
Supergirl’s fifth season airs on Sundays at 9/8c on The CW starting on October 6.