After a long wait, we finally have our first look at Star Trek: Discovery, CBS’ new prequel series set a decade before the events of the original 1960s Star Trek. The just-released trailer for the show introduces some new characters, including Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham, seen in the trailer serving under the command of Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), captain of the starship Shenzhou. Intriguingly, while Martin-Green’s character is definitely human, the trailer suggests that she may have been raised by Vulcans—at least, based on some dialogue with Sarek (James Frain, playing the father of the most famous Vulcan of all). Take a look:
The trailer is, as expected, much more stylish and action-heavy than previous TV iterations of Trek, in line with the aesthetics of the movie reboots. But it does also hint at a return to the kind of philosophical discussions and moral quandaries that made earlier television series so, dare we say, fascinating. As a conflict with the Klingons looms on the horizon, Yeoh and Martin-Green’s characters seem at odds over whether to attack, torn between Starfleet’s peaceful, exploration-minded policies and the crew’s self-preservation: “Starfleet doesn’t fire first.” “We have to!”
The series also stars Jason Isaacs as the captain of the show’s titular starship, Discovery, as well as Maulik Pancholy as the ship’s doctor, Doug Jones as a brand new death-sensing alien, and Rainn Wilson, taking on the role of the hapless Harry Mudd from the original TV show.
CBS also announced Wednesday that the series will be 15 episodes instead of the original 13, with an aftershow called Trek Talk. The first episode will debut on CBS in the fall, with the rest of the season airing on the network’s streaming service, CBS All Access.
