In an interesting promotional move, Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica will actually come out April 21 as a DVD. That’s a full eight months before it hits Sci Fi as a TV series in 2010. TV Guide reports on the unusual release and seems as confused as I am.

Sci Fi has to be thinking - OK, I don’t what they’re thinking but maybe this will help generate buzz. The two-hour pilot movie better be really good though. The last thing you want is a bunch of BSG fans watching this pilot and deciding to skip the show.

Caprica looks at the Greystone and Adama families that play a pivotal role in setting up the society soon to be ruined by the Cylon-Human conflict.

Esai Morales as Joseph Adams, Eric Stoltz as Daniel Graystone — SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

The Hollywood Reporter says Eric Stoltz has signed on to play opposite Jericho’s Esai Morales in the two-hour pilot Caprica. Stolz will take on the role of wealthy computer engineer Daniel Graystone, rumored to be the creator of the Cylons.

Stoltz has appeared on Medium and in Ashton Kutcher’s sci-fi jaunt The Butterfly Effect, but is of course best known for his role as Rocky Dennis in Mask. Stolz also has experience in the director’s chair having directed episodes of Once and Again, Boston Legal and ER.

The Battlestar Galactica prequel takes place 50 years before the events of that show, focusing on the Graystone and Adama families and their role shaping the future of Caprica.

Image courtesy of Newscom