Written by Jayse Smith
Star Trek: Discovery attended San Diego Comic-Con and brought a few announcements with them including a short-order spinoff series and the season 2 trailer!
For over fifty years there has been one television series which has dominated the sci-fi genre, lets just say the franchise has lived long and prospered. It’s given us iconic characters like Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Captain Kirk (William Shatner), and who could forget Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), coupled with visual effects way ahead of its time, Star Trek has wowed audiences and it is set for a second season of its’ modernised new venture, Star Trek: Discovery.
The revamp of the series, which was released in September 2017, has been well received by fans. It tells a story which takes place a decade before Captain Kirk’s deep space adventures portrayed in the original Star Trek which aired in the 1960’s—and a century before the events which take place in Star Trek: Enterprise. The series focuses on the main character Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), a science specialist and the crew of the starship Discovery during the Klingon-Federation war.
Throughout the series, there is drama, love, far-fetched technology, and fantastic supporting characters with the standouts being Saru (Doug Jones), Tilly (Mary Wiseman), and Voq/Ash Tyler (Shazad Lartif). After such a great response from fans and critics alike (the series got an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), a second season of the series was ordered in October 2017.
Star Trek: Discovery at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC)
SDCC goers were treated to a panel with cast members from the show and those appearing on the panel included Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Shazad Latif, Mary Wiseman, Anthony Rapp (Lt. Stamets), Wilson Cruz (Dr Hugh Culber), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), and newcomer Anson Mount, who will play the role of Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise in season two.
SDCC saw the premiere of the trailer for Discovery’s second season, where this writer came away from with goosebumps. We see Burnham’s character thrust back into space with constant explosions, spaceflight, and asteroids as the totally apt ‘Fly Away’ by Lenny Kravitz plays in the background. There’s also the addition of a new Starfleet uniform, which fans of the original will identify with and although it was teased in the trailer that yes Spock will indeed appear in the latest instalment of the series, fans didn’t get to see him in this trailer. There’s also the addition of a new captain for this season who introduces himself as Pike.
After the panel discussion with the Discovery cast, we’ve learnt that series two will air in January, but there’s a present coming! There will be four films or ‘Short Treks’ about some of the characters, including Tilly, Saru & Harry Mudd, which will run for 10-15 minutes and delve deeper into these characters. According to CBS, these will be rolled out monthly in the lead up to the new season. Despite a broken neck in season 1 Dr. Culber is back—it’ll be interesting to see how they fit that in, although if someone could bring back the dead it would be Lt. Stamets.
“There is no shortage of compelling stories to tell in the Star Trek universe that inspire, entertain, and either challenge our preconceived ideas or affirm long-held beliefs, and we are excited to broaden the universe already with Short Treks,” Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman said. “Each episode will deliver closed-ended stories while revealing clues about what’s to come in future Star Trek: Discovery episodes. They’ll also introduce audiences to new characters who may inhabit the larger world of Star Trek.”
It was also teased that there will be a visit to Saru’s home planet where we will learn more about the predator/prey role that his character falls into. Kurtzman talked further about what to expect, “Everyone is asking, how are we staying true to canon, and I can tell you, yes, we will be seeing Spock this season,” he said during the panel. “We know we owe you a lot of answers about how this season connects to canon, and you’re going to get them. You’re just not going to get them the way you expect them.” Season 2 is all about family. Mysterious signals “form the investigative trail of why the Enterprise is here.”
Anson Mount also revealed that Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) will guest star as the original Number One, who was played by Majel Barrett Roddenberry in the original.
Just call me “Number One!” Honored to play such an iconic character in #StarTrek Canon originally played by the First Lady of Star Trek, Majel Barrett-Roddeberry! #StarTrekDiscovery pic.twitter.com/rdpWOxBYAk
— Rebecca Romijn (@RebeccaRomijn) July 20, 2018
Season 2 will be available in January, but stay tuned for more information about the short films coming in December. You can catch season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access in the US and Netflix internationally.
