Star Trek: Discovery's central character DOES have a Vulcan background confirm showrunners
Sonequa Martin Green's character First Officer Michael Burnham is a human who attended the Vulcan Science Academy – but what else have we learned about the new series?
These are the voyages of starship USS Discovery. Its mission: to explore strange new worlds, perhaps? Possibly seek out new life and new civilisations? Boldly going, erm, somewhere? Maybe?
Although the Star Trek: Discovery is heading to Netflix at warp speed (release date 25th September), showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg have so far remained tight-lipped about how the new TV series will play out.
But the reason’s pretty exciting: the first few episodes contain so many twists it makes talking about the storyline difficult without jettisoning major plot points.
However, the Trek team have now released a few spoiler-safe details about what’s to come. Speaking to EW, Harberts and Berg have now revealed a little more about Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, the Starfleet First Officer and first human to attend the Vulcan Science Academy.
It's a back story that fans had already guessed at, but it's good to hear we're on the right lines when it comes to the Trek reboot.
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“Burnham [has] spent a lot of time on Vulcan, but she’s human,” Harberts said. “Sarek [Spock’s father, played by James Frain] plays an important role in her life, which has been completely planned until she makes a very difficult choice that sends her life on a very different path."
He continued: “When we meet her, she’s the First Officer on the Starship Shenzhou [captained by Philippa Georgiou, played by Michelle Yeoh]. And Burnham’s choice that we’re alluding to is the most difficult choice you can make — it affects her, affects Starfleet, affects the Federation, it affects the entire universe.
“That choice leads her to a different ship, the Discovery [helmed by Captain Lorca, played by Jason Isaacs] and there we begin what Gretchen and I call our ‘second pilot.'”
So, that explains why so many of the preview photos have been anchored to the USS Shenzhou and not the titular ship. But what about the baddies? Which aliens will battle Starfleet’s finest?
The Klingons. Harberts and Berg have said the interstellar warriors will return to the show, ominously adding that they won’t be friendly.
However, don’t expect the new series to be simply harking back to Treks of old. The writers have stressed the series will be different from its predecessors owing to its central character, Burnham, not being a Captain. “The advantage to her not being in charge of the bridge right now is we get to tell stories from a very different point of view,” said Berg. “It’s a fresh feeling because we’re not on the bridge all the time. We get access to more parts of the ship.”
A fresh protagonist viewpoint? A twist-driven plot? The return of the Klingons? Engage, Discovery! As soon as you can!
Star Trek: Discovery comes to Netflix on 25th September
