“Lost” alumnus Dominic Monaghan is joining the cast of ABC’s new fall drama “FlashForward.”

Based on Robert J. Sawyer’s novel, the Joseph Fiennes-starring series chronicles the aftermath of a global event in which everyone blacks out for two minutes, 17 seconds and has mysterious visions of six months into the future.

The network confirmed Monaghan’s casting Friday at the Comic-Con pop-culture convention. There had been speculation that he would be added to the action drama ever since he was featured in the “ABC House” promotional campaign this spring, despite the fact that his character on “Lost” had drowned.

ABC has been so confident about “FlashForward,” slated to premiere Sept. 24, that it began airing promos for it during “Lost” before the show was officially picked up as a series in May.

Co-starring on the series are John Cho, Jack Davenport, Courtney B. Vance, Sonya Walger , Brian F. O’Byrne, Christine Woods, Zachary Knighton and Peyton List.

Besides the role of Charlie Pace on “Lost,” Monaghan is known for playing Hobbit Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. He recently appeared in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and guest starred on the series “Chuck.”

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ABC brought it’s anticipated fall show “FLASH FORWARD” to the 2009 Comic Con to spread the word about this unique project. Creator David S. Goyer (BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT (writer)) brought cast members Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Courtney B. Vance and a special surprise guest to give the audience a little taste of what is to come.

The show starts with introducing the characters in their daily lives. Suddenly, everyone in the world has a blackout at the same time. During the blackout, people see a glimpse of their futures in six months time. The “flash” gives people clues to what will happen in their future. The show goes on trying to make sense of peoples visions and find out if they are actually connected in a global way. Goyer assures us that they are working to the season finale date in April, and they will reveal the cause of the blackout in the season finale. Cast member Courtney B. Vance jokes that he hopes the show will go on for ” 21 seasons”. Film actor Joseph Fiennes has never starred in a television project before, but says that he was just blown away by the script and knew he had to be part of the project.

At the end of the panel, David S. Goyer brought out his “surprise” guest Dominic Monaghan (”Lost”) who plays baddie Simon on the show. Monaghan, who has always been a fan favorite and a huge draw couldn’t say much about his character. He didn’t want to give away too much of the plot and simply said “I play a character called Simon.”

British actor Jack Davenport (”SWINGTOWN”, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) also stars in the show, which premieres on Thursday, September 24th at 8pm on ABC.

You can get more info on the show and see special blogs by cast and creators at www.redpandaresources.com.

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Even though the flashes forward in the series only takes us as far as April 29, 2010, the creators of ABC’s FlashForward say there is a plan beyond that. They hoofed it to San Diego to get the buzz train rolling, and brought along “secret” cast addition Dominic Monaghan (Lost) to up the excitement.

At first glance, I can’t help but be reminded of Prison Break on FOX. It started off great, with a great serialized premise. The first season as we ratcheted toward that break out was intense and pretty good stuff. But then they were out and FOX renewed the show. Now what? What came next was hit-or-miss television for three more seasons.

Hopefully, producers David Goyer and Marc Guggenheim have thoroughly thought this through. They indicated that the final episode of the first season would be April 30, 2010; the “aftermath.” I’m guessing that will tie in to whatever caused the flashes in the first place. Maybe, like Lost, it will organically reinvent itself each year.
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We saw a time-travelly chunk of new ABC show FlashForward, where worldwide clairvoyance causes a global disaster. And Lost’s Dominic Monaghan made a surprise appearance. Spoilers ahead.

During the FlashForward panel, producers David S. Goyer, Marc Guggenheim and Brannon Braga debuted the first 17 minutes of their show.

Opening on a shot of Joseph Fiennes upside-down in a car (next to some oranges), and it appears as though some catastrophic event has occurred in Los Angeles. Mark Benford is just starting to navigate the wreckage of a highway full of cars when the show jumps backward in time ala J.J. Abrams.

From there, the story is jumpy and cuts from one character to another too fast, introducing us to no less than seven potentially important characters in the first 10 minutes.
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The casting of Dominic Monaghan offers the strongest evidence yet that ABC sees “FlashForward” as the next “Lost.”

The “Lost” alum was officially unveiled Friday as an addition to the cast of the Alphabet’s fantasy drama during the Comic-Con sesh on the show, which has a large ensemble anchored by Joseph Fiennes. Producers didn’t offer much in the way of specifics on Monaghan’s character other than to say his name is Simon. He’ll join the show early on in its run but does not appear in the pilot.

Monaghan’s surprise appearance at the “FlashForward” sesh was, needless to say, enthusiastically received by the Comic-Con crowd. Monaghan’s “Lost” character, Charlie Pace, died at the end of the show’s third season, but he remains a fan fave.

Gabrielle Union is also signing on to the show in a recurring role. She’ll play a criminal defense attorney who becomes involved romantically with one the core characters.

“FlashForward” is ABC’s biggest drama bet for the fall. Series revolves around the aftermath of a mysterious event when everyone in the world blacks out and is given a glimpse of their future. Others in the ensemble include Courtney B. Vance, John Cho, Jack Davenport and another “Lost” vet, Sonya Walger.

ABC Studios skein is exec produced by David S. Goyer, Brannon Braga, Marc Guggenheim and Jessika Borsiczky Goyer. Goyer and Braga penned the pilot.

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