Back in December, it was reported thatThe Walking DeadstarSonequa Martin-Greenhas signed on for the female lead role in the CBS All Access seriesStar Trek Discovery, although the streaming service never confirmed the casting. On Monday, just hours afterThe Walking DeadSeason 7 finale, the streaming service confirmed the actress, revealing that she’ll play First Officer Michael Burnham on the new series. If you haven’t seenThe Walking DeadSeason 7 finale yet, there will be SPOILERS below, along with new details about another casting addition forStar Trek Discovery,Rainn Wilson
The official Twitter forStar Trek Discoverydebuted a brief video on Monday morning, confirmingSonequa Martin-Green’s casting, which comes less than a day after herWalking Deadcharacter Sasha Williams committed suicide, while being transported from The Sanctuary to Alexandria. Shortly after the actress’Star Trek rolewas reported, showrunnerScott M. Gimplehinted that he would be willing to “juggle” the schedule forSonequa Martin-Greento accommodate her role onStar Trek Discovery, but obviously that won’t be necessary now. Earlier reports claimedSonequa Martin-Greenwould still be able to shoot both shows, but that was months beforeThe Walking Deadseason finale, when her character Sasha was killed.
As forSonequa Martin-Green’s new role, former showrunnerBryan Fullerrevealed before stepping away from the series that the show’s lead character will be a “lieutenant commander with caveats,” andSonequa Martin-Green’s casting confirmation cements two iconic firsts for the franchise.Star Trek Discoverywill now be the firstStar Trekshow lead by an African-American female, while also being the first show to center on a character who isn’t the captain, with her character Michael Burnham serving as the First Officer.CBS All Accessalso recently announced the addition of yet another cast member,Rainn Wilson.
Rainn Wilsonis set to appear inStar Trek Discoveryas Harry Mudd, the charismatic conman and intergalactic criminal first introduced in the original Star Trek television series. The Emmy nominated actor’s credits includeThe Office, and the filmsSuperandMeg, oppositeJason Statham, a pre-historic shark tale. He joins a cast that also includesMichelle Yeohas Captain Georgiou, the Starfleet Captain aboard the Starship Shenzhou,Doug Jonesas Lt. Saru, a Starfleet Science Officer and a new alien species to the Star Trek universe,Chris Obias T’Kuvma, theKlingon leaderseeking to unite the Klingon houses,Shazad Latifas Kol, the Commanding Officer of the Klingons and protégé of T’Kuvma andMary Chieffoas L’Rell, the Battle Deck Commander of the Klingon ship.
Star Trek Discoverywill also feature the first openly-gay character, Lt. Stamets, played by Anthony Rapp, an astromycologist, fungus expert, and Starfleet Science Officer aboard the Discovery, along withJames Frainas Spock’s father,Jason Isaacsas Captain Lorca, captain of the Starship discovery, andMary Wisemanas Tilly, a Starfleet Academy Cadet in her final year of study, assigned to the Starship Discovery.Star Trek Discoveryis produced by CBS Television Studios in association withAlex Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout,Bryan Fuller’s Living Dead Guy Productions and Roddenberry Entertainment.Alex Kurtzman,Bryan Fuller,Heather Kadin,Gretchen J. Berg&Aaron Harberts,Akiva Goldsman,Rod RoddenberryandTrevor Rothserve as executive producers.
Star Trek, one of the most iconic and influential global television franchises, returns to television 50 years after it first premiered withStar Trek Discovery. The series will feature a new ship, new characters and new missions, while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers. The series will premiere on the CBS Television Network with all subsequent episodes available on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service, and will be distributed concurrently by CBS Studios International on Netflix in 188 countries and in Canada on Bell Media’s Space channel and OTT service CraveTV. Take a look at this brief video introducingSonequa Martin-GreentoStar Trek Discovery.
