Fans of Captain Pike’s “old is new again” Enterprise from the second season of Star Trek: Discovery got their wish Thursday as Anson Mount’s captain, new Number One actor Rebecca Romijn and new Science Officer Spock actor Ethan Peck stepped into roles long familiar to the Star Trek fan base. The title is apt: Strange New Worlds, taking a line from William Shatner’s original introductory dialogue for Captain James T. Kirk from the very beginning of Gene Roddenberry’s vision, is handed off once again, in a series opener drawn from the pilot for the first episode of Star Trek filmed way back in 1964, and that darned old Prime Directive.
Like the split between fans of the third Star Wars trilogy and The Mandalorian, fans of Star Trek probably see themselves aligned to prefer either Star Trek: Discovery or Star Trek: Picard. Or maybe there’s even a better contrast between Star Trek: Discovery’s first season worldbuilding vs. that series’ second season’s throwback concepts. Was your favorite character the badass Mirror Universe Emperor Philippa Georgiou (formerly Federation Captain), played by the sly and fabulous Michelle Yeoh (the only actor onscreen who could actually immobilize someone in real life with her martial arts skill and the highest paid actress in Asia)? Maybe it was the very Original Series-inspired engineer Jett Reno, who got the best dialogue and had the best style of any character in this decade of Trekdom, played by the brilliantly funny Tig Notaro? Maybe it is the series lead, the very straight-laced Ant-Man and The Wasp-inspired sci-fi-meets-superheroine, Captain Michael Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green? Or maybe it is Anson Mount giving his own superhero performance as an early (and later?) famous Captain Christopher Pike of the familiar good ship Enterprise? Turns out, if any one of the above fits the bill for you, Star Trek has something for you heading your way.
Big news for fans of Star Trek: Discovery at San Diego Comic-Con Friday was the announcement of Librarians and X-Men actor Rebecca Romijn as the new character Number One for season 2 of the series. Number One was the first of three roles taken on by Majel Barrett (and later Barrett-Roddenberry after she married Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry), for the Star Trek original series episode “The Cage” with then Enterprise captain Christopher Pike. CBS All Access released the trailer for the second season showing our first look at the third actor to play Christopher Pike, Inhumans star Anson Mount. He follows Jeffrey Hunter and Bruce Greenwood taking on the role of the captain of the Enterprise before Kirk. In the coming second season we catch up with the crew of USS Discovery, commanded by acting Captain Saru and Commander Michael Burnham as they respond to a “Priority One” distress call from the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, commanded by Captain Christopher Pike. Mount’s Pike seems to borrow mannerisms, voice, and dialogue more from Greenwood’s work in 2009’s Star Trek and the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. The new trailer is filled with more humor and quips than seen in marketing for the first, darker season.
The trailer was unveiled at Star Trek: Discovery’s Hall H appearance today at SDCC, with series’ showrunner Alex Kurtzman also announcing Star Trek: Short Treks, a four-episode spinoff series of fifteen minute short films (like for Star Trek fan film-length features) that will begin monthly in December, to include episodes with Leverage’s Aldis Hodge, Rainn Wilson, Doug Jones, and Mary Wiseman. Kurtzman also revealed that fans can expect Spock to appear next season, as hinted at in the trailer. The panel included actors Sonequa Martin-Green (Commander Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Commander Saru), Shazad Latif (Lt. Ash Tyler), Mary Wiseman (Ensign Sylvia Tilly), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Commander Paul Stamets), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell), Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Tig Notaro (new Chief Engineer Reno), and executive producer Heather Kadin.
Take a look at a new look at a classic character in this preview for season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery: Continue reading →
