After months of speculation, it appears that the starship Discovery has finally found its captain. According to Variety, actor Jason Isaacs, probably best known to fans for playing the evil Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, has been cast as Captain Lorca on CBS All Access‘ upcoming Star Trek: Discovery. Â
Isaacs joins an incredible cast, which includes The Walking Dead star Sonequa Martin-Green, who will be the series lead (although she is the Lt. Commander and not the Captain, a first for Star Trek), as well as  James Frain as Spock’s father Sarek, Anthony Rapp as a “space fungus expert”, and Michelle Yeoh as the captain of the Starship Shenzhou.
Other cast members include Starfleet officers, played by Terry Serpico as Admiral Anderson, a high-ranking official of Starfleet; Maulik Pancholy as Dr. Nambue, the chief medical officer of the Starship Shenzhou, and Sam Vartholomeos as Ensign Connor, a junior officer in Starfleet Academy assigned to the Starship Shenzhou. As the series’ Klingons, the show has cast actors Chris Obi, Shazad Latif, and Mary Chieffo.
Aside from playing Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, one of Isaacs’ most recent roles was as the lead antagonist on the Netflix series The OA. Basically, he’s not someone you usually cast when you’re looking for someone warm and cuddly, so expect this Captain to be gruff and maybe not terribly likable at first.
While it may seem strange to have a captain on a Star Trek series not come off as charming from the get-go, remember that this series is unique in that the main character will be a Lt. Commander, and not the ship’s captain. It takes some of the pressure off of Jason Isaacs to carry everything. Regardless of how they go with Isaacs’ Captain Lorca, he’s always an intimidating presence on screen, so I wouldn’t expect him to take that much of a backseat.
Star Trek: Discovery was originally meant to premiere on the CBS All Access streaming service in January, but the series has kept getting pushed back and delayed, and now is said to debut late this summer or in early fall. Part of the reason for the delays is the departure of the series original showrunner Bryan Fuller.
Does this piece of casting news make you even more excited for Discovery? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Images: Â Netflix / Warner Brothers
