I guess we can expect to see the new Starfleet captain slowly drive their crew insane while eating lowly ensigns, or maybe the science officer baking pies and bringing the dead back to life. Or, you know, whatever. We can speculate all we want now because Bryan Fuller, the incredibly talented creator of cult TV favorites Hannibal and Pushing Daisies, is blasting off on a new adventure few of us could have predicted: showrunning CBS’s new Star Trek series.

When NBC announced last year the cancellation of Hannibal, Fuller mentioned he was working on his American Gods show and that was taking up most of his time. So, the news of him not only helping to create but also showrunning the next television iteration of Star Trek, which is set to be the flagship original program for CBS’s All Access subscription video on-demand service, is a pretty big surprise, but a totally welcome one. On top of creating beloved if short-lived genre television, he also got his start writing two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and 15 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.

Clearly, Fuller is very excited about the announcement as he tweeted the following Tuesday morning:

https://twitter.com/BryanFuller/status/697118666752598016

So, he’s a pretty O.G. Trekkie, I think we can all agree. Look how happy he is! In the official statement about the announcement, Fuller said:

“My very first experience of ‘Star Trek’ is my oldest brother turning off all the lights in the house and flying his model of a D7 Class Klingon Battle Cruiser through the darkened halls. Before seeing a frame of the television series, the ‘Star Trek’ universe lit my imagination on fire,” said Fuller. “It is without exaggeration a dream come true to be crafting a brand new iteration of ‘Star Trek’ with fellow franchise alum Alex Kurtzman and boldly going where no ‘Star Trek’ series has gone before.”

No word yet on the exact premiere date of the new Star Trek, but it’s expected to be January of 2017, after the 50th anniversary of the original series’ premiere, on September 8, 1966.

Are you over the moon about Fuller taking the helm of the new Trek, or should fans brace for impact? Let us know in the comments below!

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HT: Variety
Image: Bryan Fuller

Kyle Anderson is the Weekend Editor and a film and TV critic for Nerdist.com. Follow him on Twitter!

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