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STAR TREK: DISCOVERY – The Complete Casting Breakdown

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY – The Complete Casting Breakdown

Last week, we got our first real look at the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery, the first new Star Trek series to air on television in over 12 years. Set ten years before the era of Kirk and Spock in the 23rd Century, this series features an all-new crew (or is that crews?) on the fringes of Federation space. Thanks to the trailer and various press releases, as well as the good folks at IGN, we finally have a good idea of who our main cast is, and just who they’ll be playing. Read on for all the details!

LT. COMMANDER MICHAEL BURNHAM

Yes, her name is Michael. Deal with it. Played by The Walking Dead star Sonequa Martin-Green, this character is described as the series’ primary player, despite only being the first officer on the Discovery, and not the Captain. Early reports had her going by the name “Number One.”

The first full trailer for the series shows flashbacks to her childhood, where she was on the planet Vulcan. In those flashbacks, she was mentored by Sarek, Spock’s father, but he tells her that she is “too human” to learn the Vulcan language. Could she be part Vulcan? She’s clearly not half, but her ears do seem to have very slight points.

CAPTAIN PHILIPPA GEORGIOU

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Michelle Yeoh is playing the captain of not The Discovery, but the Federation Starship Shenzou. Based on the trailer, both Shenzou and Michael Burnham are serving together, at least initially, before Burnham transfers. Or does Yeoh take over the Discovery? It remains to be seen.

LT. STAMETS

 

Broadway actor Anthony Rapp, best known for his role in Rent, will play Trek’s first openly gay ongoing character, Lt. Stamets. This character will be a science officer specializing in astromycology (the study of fungi in space). Not sure yet if Stamets will be part of the crew for the Discovery or the Shenzou.

LT. SARU

One of the new, as yet unnamed alien species introduced in Discovery, Saru’s race, as described in the trailer, is genetically programmed to sense approaching death. He’s played by renowned creature performer and Guillermo del Toro regular Doug Jones, known for his roles in Hellboy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Pan’s Labyrinth.

CAPTAIN LORCA


Played by veteran character actor Jason Isaacs, best known for his work in the Harry Potter film series, Lorca is the Captain of the U.S.S. Discovery.

ADMIRAL ANDERSON

Anderson is a high ranking Starfleet admiral, and based on all previous Trek shows and movies, there is a good chance that he’s really a bad guy. He’s played by Army Wives star Terry Serpico.

COMMANDER LANDRY

 

Former Battlestar Galactica star Rekha Sharma will be playing Landry, the Security Officer for the Discovery

SAREK OF VULCAN

One of the main recurring characters in Star Trek lore, Sarek is the ambassador to Earth from Vulcan, and most famously, Spock’s father. At the point that the show takes place, Sarek and Spock are not on speaking terms. Here he’s played by genre vet James Frain, known to fans for his roles on Gotham, Orphan Black, TRON: Legacy and True Blood.  

CONNOR

Sam Vartholomeos will portray  either ensign or Lt. Connor, a junior officer in Starfleet Academy, assigned to the Shenzhou

DR. NAMBUE

 

What’s a starship without a doctor? Actor Maulik Pancholy is plauing Nambue, Chief Medical Officer of the USS Shenzhou. Pancholy is best known for his work on30 Rock

LT. TYLER

 

Known best for his role as Dr. Jekyll on Penny Dreadful, Shazad Latif was originally cast as a Klingon, but during production his role became that of Stafleet Lt. Tyler. Whether Tyler will be onboard the Discovery or the Shenzou has yet to be revealed.

T’KUVMA

American Gods actor Chris Obi will be playing the Klingon captain T’Kuvma. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the Klingons on Discovery, as they don’t match the visual look of the species from the original Star Trek series and movies, nor The Next Generation. Rumor has it that these are a race of primitive Klingons, although that has not been confirmed. It will be interesting to see how the show deals with this issue.

KOL

This is the protege of T’Kuvma, and commanding officer of the Klingons. He was originally played by Shazad Latif, but is now being portrayed by actor Kenneth Mitchell.

TILLY

Actress Mary Wiseman, best known for the series Longmire, will portray Tilly, a cadet in her final year at Starfleet Academy, assigned to the Discovery

HARRY MUDD

Last, but certainly not least, Rainn Wilson from The Office will join the cast as Harry Mudd, a space pirate and con artist, who appeared twice on the original series and once in the later animated series. Wilson portrays a younger version of the character played by Roger C. Carmel in the classic show.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to premiere this fall on CBS All Access, with 15 all new episodes.

Are you as excited for this new era of Trek TV? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: CBS 

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