A new casting update for Amazon Prime Video's live-action adaptation of Mass Effect revealed the show's five main characters from the video game. Mass Effect is a sci-fi video game franchise from BioWare that follows the story of Commander Shepard as he navigates a dangerous galaxy filled with various alien species, advanced technology, and a complex political climate of the Citadel Council.
In November 2024, Variety reported that a live-action series from Prime Video is in development, with Daniel Casey (F9: The Fast Saga - one of the top 10 box office earners of 2023) tapped to write and serve as executive producer. Fast forward to June 2025, the same outlet also reported that the Mass Effect series is moving along well since it already tapped Star Trek Beyond's Doug Jung as its showrunner.
A recent report from entertainment insider Daniel Richtman shared new casting information for the Mass Effect series, confirming the five main characters who are at the core of the live-action show's story.
The 5 Main Video Game Characters of Prime Video's Mass Effect Show
Commander Shepard
The first casting call in Richtman's report stated that the series is looking for a male lead between 30 and 39 years old with open ethnicity who is described as a "young Colin Farrell."
This casting could likely be for Mass Effect's protagonist, Commander Shepard. In the video game, Shepard is an expert supersoldier of the Systems Alliance capable of fighting off threats, who is hellbent on stopping The Reapers, an advanced race of sentient alien spaceships.
Part of his mission from the first game (2007's Mass Effect) is to stop a rogue Spectre (a special agent) named Saren Arterius, who is secretly allied with The Reapers. His main goal is to help lead his allies in preventing a full-scale Reaper invasion.
Liara T'Soni
Part of the casting call from the report includes a female lead between 34 and 39 years old who will play an alien. Some fans believe this character could be Liara T'Soni, an Asari—an all-female alien species with telekinetic abilities and strong diplomatic influence in the galaxy. She was 106 years old in the first Mass Effect video game.
As one of Commander Shepard's loyal allies, Liara is crucial in understanding Shepard's vision from a Prothean beacon, making her the galaxy's expert in Prothean archeology. She can also manipulate dark energy and create mass effect fields during battle. Liara has a prominent role in the grand scheme since her mother, Matriarch Benezia, is a close ally of the big bad: Spectre Saren.
Female Shepard
Another female lead (between 30 and 49 years old) is part of Mass Effect's casting call. She is described as "a human female providing a parallel narrative from Earth."
It's possible that this character will end up being a proxy for a female version of Commander Shepard stationed on Earth. The Mass Effect game allows players to play as a female version of Shepard, who has the same goal of defeating the Reapers. However, she has gender-specific interactions that lead to different outcomes in the game.
Having a narrative set on Earth would be historic for Mass Effect since the game was primarily set in space. This would give fans an opportunity to learn more about the perspective of humans on Earth, specifically through this female character.
Spectre Saren
The casting call also includes the series' main villain, who is a male between 40 and 60 years old who "needs to be a creature or character actor like Doug Jones."
There is a strong chance that this is none other than Spectre Saren, the rogue agent who aligned himself with the Reapers. Similar to Shepard, he is a highly skilled operative, but the main difference is that he is far more ruthless and went rogue in the process. Saren has total disdain for humans and believes that he can control the Reapers.
Saren is a dangerous villain who will do anything to reach the hierarchy of domination. His ultimate goal is to attack the Citadel and destabilize it so that the Reapers can arrive and begin their plan of harvesting organic life.
Garrus Vakarian
The final piece of the casting call in the report is looking for a male lead (between 30 and 49 years old) who will play a fighter/soldier type character that requires a "wrestler-type physicality."
This casting could lean toward Garrius Vakarian, a skilled Turian sniper and a loyal ally of Commander Shepard. Aside from his sharpshooting prowess, he has his own personal vendetta in the first Mass Effect game, as he becomes hellbent on tracking down a criminal named Dr. Saleon, who has ties to his past under C-Sec (Citadel Security Services).
Having Garrius in Mass Effect Season 1 is an exciting prospect because of his interesting dynamic with Shepard. His wit and extreme loyalty (and closeness) with Shepard is one of the highlights of Mass Effect, and it would be a delight to see in a live-action format.
Read more about Mass Effect's Han Solo-inspired video game spin-off here.
