A lot has been happening in the Star Trek universe of late – including the start of production on Star Trek: Discovery season two, and news on not one but two Kelvin-universe films in development.
Let’s start with Star Trek: Discovery!
In episode three of the first season, when the first half aired last year, we were all suddenly captivated by one tiny, fleeting little moment on screen – a moment that inspired a passionate and excited debate online.
The appearance of the mysterious “black delta.”
For a long time, the leading theory was that it and the USS Discovery itself were somehow connected to the enigmatic and paranoid Section 31.
Finally, after months of speculation, one half of that leading fan theory was confirmed by actor Alan Van Sprang.
Alan appeared in the last episode of season one of Star Trek: Discovery, in a scene that was ultimately cut. That scene appeared online as both a “bonus scene” and a teaser for season two. The video has disappeared from a few places, but is still available on YouTube. You can find it here. Check it out, it is well worth a look.
The scene in question had Alan appearing as a “fake” Trill. His character, Leland, recruits Mirror Universe Georgiou at a Klingon bar she now seems to be running, and hands her the black badge. He tells her he is from Section 31 and that they could use someone like her. So… someone megalomaniacal, devoid of compassion, morally bankrupt and vicious to the core? Gotta love Section 31!
According to Van Sprang at an appearance he made at WonderCon earlier this year, his character will be featuring prominently in season two, alongside Section 31 and, we can only presume, former Emperor Philippa Georgiou.
So excited by that. Any opportunity to get Michelle Yeoh back makes me very happy.
The only other piece of information Alan offered was via a later Instagram post where he stated that Leland “heads up” Section 31.
That’s not all.
With Star Trek: Discovery now about a month into production on season two, more news has come out and it is exciting.
Not one but two casting announcements have been made.
The first, and the one I’ve been waiting for, is that Anson Mount has been cast as Captain Christopher Pike, commanding officer of the original USS Enterprise.
To the joy of many a fan (myself included), Anson took to social media to share his feelings. Using clips from “The Cage” and even an image of a Pike action figure, Anson showed the world that he is a fan of Trek and super excited to be a part of the family.
You may know Anson from Marvel’s Inhumans and the AMC series Hell on Wheels.
And yes, that is a version of the original series uniform that Anson is wearing in a shot I’ve screen capped from a “production has started” video that CBS released. Is that Spock in blue off to the side? Not a clue, we don’t get a good enough look at that character.
Before we get to that video though, click here to visit TrekMovie for more information on Anson’s casting.
The second casting announcement was that Tig Notaro, primarily known for her comedy work, has been cast as Chief Engineer Denise Reno of the USS Hiawatha.
Chief Engineer? Does that mean Discovery gets an engineer?
We don’t know – we still don’t know who her captain will be! I suspect, however, that something will happen to make Denise Reno board the Discovery and stay there.
In other news, Jonathan Frakes, our very own Commander William T. Riker, will return to direct two episodes this season, and he has let slip on social media that the scripts he has read so far are AMAZING!
Jonathan also had a visit from his former onscreen wife, Marina Sirtis, while on the set of Star Trek: Discovery where he was directing episode two of the second season.
As you would expect, this set the internet on fire.
Is Marina appearing in Star Trek: Discovery? Is it just a coincidence? No one knows, and that’s casting information the production team behind the show would keep close to their chests.
In some of Marina’s social media she called out to Mary Wiseman, which made some fans wonder if she might be following in Majel Barrett-Roddenberry’s footsteps and playing the mother of a major character (Tilly). Tilly has mentioned her curly-hair-hating mother on more than one occasion, and both Mary and Marina’s comedy-chops are pretty damn good (watch Star Trek: First Contact to see just how hilarious Marina is). Star Trek: Discovery could get a lot of play out of Mary and Marina on screen together.
My take? We have a new ship popping up – the USS Hiawatha. I would love for Marina to be playing that ship’s captain, and for that captain to be Tilly’s mum. Alternatively, she could be a prominent member of the Enterprise crew who is Tilly’s mum. She could beam over for some quality time with her daughter while the Discovery and Enterprise are hanging around together.
Staying with Star Trek Discovery for the moment, the last thing I want to mention is a recent video treat courtesy of CBS All Access showing us some of what’s going on with the production.
One thing, in particular, that was in that video should thrill every fan. The appearance of the traditional gold, red and blue uniforms.
They have been modernised, but to me they appear to be quite faithful. Still with a Star Trek: Discovery flair, but familiar and pleasantly so.
You’ll also notice that the rank braids are back, as is the solid badge.
The video also adds in to what Alan Van Sprang has said about Section 31 playing a prominent role in the second season.
The video briefly shows a shot of a sheaf of production drawings labelled “Section 31.”
Section 31 bridge, lab. At least two designs for that. An upper floor plan for something that may or may not be Section 31 related.
Interesting.
Will we see a Section 31 starship?
The final takeaway from that video is what appears to be a computer interface from the much loved, fan favourite vessel the USS Enterprise.
It’s a graphic, and the style seems to draw a lot from the movie period of Star Trek V, Star Trek VI and Star Trek: Generations (the Kirk, Chekov and Scotty part of that film).
There is a very gentle colour nod (one orange and one red touch button) to the original series in the display, but otherwise it is very Star Trek: Discovery with a hint of earlier films.
Last but not least, for some time now Quentin Tarantino’s name has been attached to the fourth Kelvin-verse film.
Quentin Tarantino, you say? Yes. He is a big Trek fan and would love a shot at directing one of the films.
As this story has played out, it appears more likely he wouldn’t be able to do the fourth Kelvin-verse film, but would instead be ready for a fifth were it to be green-lit.
No matter when, I am really excited to see what Tarantino would do with a Trek movie. Hopefully nothing too bat-shit crazy, but he is a creative and visionary director with a gritty and stylistic approach that is engaging. And sometimes polarising.
The CEO of Paramount Pictures, Jim Gianopulos, has confirmed that not one but TWO Star Trek films are currently in development.
We have absolutely no information on what those two films are about, and to the best of our knowledge neither does anyone else – except for those people actually developing the two ideas.
What we do know is that the Tarantino idea is being written by Mark L. Smith, and the other is being written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay and is most likely the much-rumoured return of George Kirk movie.
Mark L. Smith wrote The Revenant, and J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay were apparently uncredited writers on Star Trek: Beyond and did some work on the original Roberto Orci idea that was eventually scrapped in favour of Doug Jung and Simon Pegg’s script.
If you want more information on any of these stories, you can track down a variety of articles through Variety and Deadline, or head on over to TrekMovie or TrekCore – both fan sites have had some excellent coverage on all of the exciting events happening in Star Trek news!
We’ve got some amazing things to look forward to as fans. Still no news on when season two of Star Trek: Discovery will air, but it looks like it could be later this year.
No news on the release date for the next movies either.
As news unfolds, we’ll chat about it right here.
Live long, and prosper.
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