'Star Trek Discovery' is still boldly going -- we just don't know when
The new Star Trek ship seems to be having some trouble getting out of the hangar.
Star Trek Discovery, a star-crossed project that was set to premiere on CBS' digital "All-Access" platform in May, has had its launch window delayed indefinitely, according to CBS.
Discovery, billed as a prequel to the original 1966-68 Star Trek series, was initially supposed to seek out new life and new worlds in February 2017. After showrunner and legendary Trek writer Bryan Fuller abruptly stepped down, that was pushed back to May. Now we don't know when we'll see it.
"This is an ambitious project; we will be flexible on a launch date if it’s best for the show," CBS said in a statement, pointing out that the All-Access platform means freedom from grueling network schedules. "We’ve said from the beginning it’s more important to do this right than to do it fast."
Still, you should expect to see it at some point. Filming is finally set to get underway in Toronto next week -- and the new showrunners were thrilled to announce some stellar casting.
James Frain -- who, depending on your age, you may remember from Gotham, True Blood, The Tudors or the 1998 Oscar-nominated movie Elizabeth -- will play Sarek.
You don't have to be a huge Trekkie to know that Sarek is the Vulcan father of one Lieutenant Commander Spock.
Given that Discovery is set a mere decade before the original series, the presence of Sarek suggests we might also see a young Spock at some point. (He won't be played by Zachary Quinto of recent Star Trek movie fame, though -- that series is set in a different universe altogether.)
The show's focus, however, is on Sonequa Martin-Green, better known as Sasha from The Walking Dead. Martin-Green will play Lieutenant Commander Rainsford, marking the first time that a Star Trek show's hero is a) a woman of color, and b) not a captain.
Doug Jones, a famous contortionist with an acting resume full of villainous creature roles, will play a new and still unknown alien officer called Saru and, presumably, boldly contort where no one has gone before.
Topics Star Trek
Chris is a veteran tech, entertainment and culture journalist, author of 'How Star Wars Conquered the Universe,' and co-host of the Doctor Who podcast 'Pull to Open.' Hailing from the U.K., Chris got his start as a sub editor on national newspapers. He moved to the U.S. in 1996, and became senior news writer for Time.com a year later. In 2000, he was named San Francisco bureau chief for Time magazine. He has served as senior editor for Business 2.0, and West Coast editor for Fortune Small Business and Fast Company. Chris is a graduate of Merton College, Oxford and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is also a long-time volunteer at 826 Valencia, the nationwide after-school program co-founded by author Dave Eggers. His book on the history of Star Wars is an international bestseller and has been translated into 11 languages.
