Writer Jane Espenson has confirmed that John de Lancie has been cast in Torchwood: Miracle Day. John de Lancie has been a fan favorite for many years, having portrayed the mysterious Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1. It is unclear at this point what role de Lancie will be fulfilling.

Production for Torchwood: Miracle Day is still continuing, and has been described as being “mindblowing,” according to Captain Jack Harkness himself, John Barrowman.

Barrowman is reunited with co-star Eve Myles in Miracle Day, as they investigate a worldwide phenomenon that has caused human beings to stop dying. Joining the Torchwood team for the new adventure is Mekhi Phifer and Esther Drummond.

As promotion and publicity for Doctor Who Series 6 marches forward around the world, BBC Worldwide and Starz USA are kicking off their promotion for Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. While the series isn’t scheduled until July, the publicity is starting early, with new poster art and a teaser video being released over the last couple of weeks.

Now, BBC and Starz have released two new images to promote Torchwood: Miracle Day, which you can see at the bottom of this post.

First up is a photo of the new Torchwood team, which looks like a still from filming. The image includes show regulars John Barrowman and Eve Myles, along with new allies Esther Drummond and Mekhi Phifer.

The second image is a new promo poster design from BBC Worldwide featuring everyone’s favorite hero-who-cannot-die, Captain Jack Harkness. This design comes with the new slogan, “Death is not an option”, indicating that now Planet Earth is facing the same immortal dilemma as Captain Jack: they cannot die!

Big news for Doctor Who and Torchwood fans today, as Starz USA announced that the fourth series of Torchwood will launch its premiere episode on Friday, July 8, 2011 at 10pm ET/PT. Starz has also released some new poster artwork for the new series, which you can view here at right. Entitled Torchwood: Miracle Day, the series originally from the BBC, will feature the return of John Barrowman and Eve Myles who will be reprising their roles as Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper respectively.

New to the world of Torchwood are Mekhi Phifer, Bill Pullman, Lauren Ambrose, Alexa Havins, and Arlene Tur. Phifer is said to have a major role in Miracle Day, portraying Rex Matheson, a CIA agent investigating a global conspiracy behind what could be a serious threat to humanity.

The official announcement from Starz elaborates on the plot of Miracle Day: