Martin-Green’s casting last year brought a close to a long and determined search to find the perfect lead for Discovery which has partially caused delays to the process of building the show. Bryan Fuller, who stepped down as showrunner last year after constructing much of the shows history, told fans at Comic Con that he wanted to cast a non-white woman in the lead role, in part inspired by the iconic role Nichelle Nichols had in the original series and for Mae Jamieson, the first the first African-American woman to launch into space.
Despite CBS confirming what everyone already knew, the news does have some new information. Previous reports hinted at the name Rainsford which was also listed on IMDB. However now we know that she will be Lieutenant Commander Michael Burnham, First Officer of the USS Discovery!
Bringing a lot of experience to the role, Martin-Green has appeared in Once Upon a Time, The Good Wife, NYC 22 and Army Wives among other credits and will continue to serve as a series regular on AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Also starring Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Jason Isaacs, Chris Obi, Michelle Yeoh and many more, Discovery is set to launch on Netflix in the UK later this year and several involved in production have teased that we’ll have more information very soon with San Diego Comic Con announcements pending.
Our latest issue of Comms breaks down recent casting announcements, including Jason Isaacs and looks at the cast so far. Our Spring 2017 edition is available for free to all members of SFCQ2 alongside many other member-exclusive benefits including social groups, exclusive offers and much more! Join the conversation and join one of the longest running Star Trek clubs in the world – membership is free!
About the author
[Ships of the Line] The Excelsior II
When it comes to exploring the final frontier, Starfleet has been widely experimental in it's design philosophy and thanks to a galaxy rich with resources – and possibly, yeah, overcoming capitalist ideals – is never shy on supplies to try out new ideas or unload a whole new line of ships for specific mission types or general experimentation. Still, while designs and ideas rotate on a regular basis to bring the specialist ships such as the Protostar or Defiant Classes, the core fleet is always held together with standard builds that can last for decades. In approaching a rebuild of the fleet to incorporate new ideas, new technologies, and new lessons learned from an ever increasing range of new and more powerful enemies to Federation ideals, Starfleet's engineers sometimes go back to the well and lean on old classics that […]
A Fistful of SNW Episodes to Rewatch Before Season 3.
In just a matter of weeks we'll be off to venture more Strange New Worlds as Captain Pike and the Enterprise crew return for their third season. Last we left them, the crew were in the middle of a Gorn crisis as a personal mission that could risk all out war resulted in the crew being split in two with half safe and sound on the Enterprise with the others in enemy hands with Pike left to decide what happens next as all odds are against them. It's been a long wait since seeing Pikee staring into space trying to decide on the next move. Especially with writers strikes pushing back filming. But now we're almost there, we've picked out some key episodes to rewatch ahead of the launch! Hegemony (S2E10) May be an obvious one, but with Season 3 […]
What If…. there was no Next Generation?
On the announcement of a new Star Trek show there was a lot of pushback. Most were excited at the idea of a new era, but some felt a new rehash of the concept was a mistake. It'll never work. The dynamics weren't right. They'd missed the point of what Star Trek was. It wasn't in the spirit of what came before. The casting was wrong, none of the new cast seemed likable It was doomed before it even began. And no, this wasn't Discovery. Nor the series of films introducing an alternate reality that played on the idea of Kirk and Spock fulfilling their destiny despite their radically changed origins. This was 1987 before the Star Trek Universe even existed. As of now (June 2025), Star Trek as an overall franchise consists of 818 episodes of live action over […]
The Final Frontier for Strange New Worlds & A Legend Revived! Across the Universe June 2025!
As we wait impatiently for the launch of Strange New Worlds third season, and the resolution to the dramatic cliff-hanger that saw the Enterprise crew separated in a battle against the Gorn, Paramount has given the bittersweet news that the series end is in sight by announcing earlier this month that it's fifth season would be it's last. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwqPH7UhKYI In a joint statement, the executive producers – Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers – focused on the adventures to come whilst being thankful for the journey so far. “ “We’re deeply grateful to Paramount+ for the chance to complete our five-season mission, just as we envisioned it, alongside our extraordinary cast and crew. And to the passionate fans who’ve boldly joined us on this journey.” Some time and a couple of Hollywood strikes ago, SNW's third and fourth […]
[Retro Review] Timeless. Voyager S5E06
Voyagers mission was to find a way home. And Harry Kim found one. Using found slipstream technology as well as time sensitive components to make it work, Kim proposes a risky plan to build the drive and race the crew home. When his space bestie Tom points out it's a stupid plan due to variables they haven't been able to counter, Captain Janeway give sit the rubber stamp anyway on the condition Chakotay fly ahead in the Delta Flyer with Kim so they can feed back course corrections so Voyager doesn't explode. Thankfully, it doesn't explode. Yet fifteen years later, Chakotay and Kim are the sole survivors of the mission; the Flyer being small enough to navigate the slipstream variances while Voyager was thrown out of the stream and crash landed on an ice planet, killing the entire crew. Now […]
Meet The Fleet Support: Final Positions Confirmed.
For anyone who'd missed it in previous Fleet Alerts or announcements; one of our main goals in 2025 was to build a new support team for Q2. Since our mass fleet redevelopment ten years ago, we've seen things changes, people come and go and the entire landscape of humanity shift twice while the franchise that brought us all here to begin with grew and evolved multiple times. Enter Fleet Support. At it's heart, SFCQ2’s Fleet Support division has been designed to aid and supplement membership opportunities and solidify a helpful, informative and supportive structure. Each role acts as a secondment to allow members to continue to be an active part of their unit while representing and supporting the fleet at an ‘HQ’ level. While we figured out two of the five positions fairly quickly, the two roles we've been most […]
Related
Starfleet Academy Welcomes It’s First Class!
The first batch of cast announcements for Academy focused on veteran actors Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter, the latter in the role of the new Academy Commandant, but now we're getting a full look at the shows first class of cadets as the first five are ready to enlist!
Paul Giamatti joins Holly Hunter for Starfleet Academy!
Looking ahead to the next generation of Star Trek shows, Paramount and Secret Hideout have already began announcing new cast members to lead the Starfleet Academy series coming to the streaming platform in the near future. News of the show has already turned heads with notes that the new academy campus will be the largest seen on TV so far, being filmed in Pinewood';s largest stage in Canada, though in terms of what to fully expect from the young adult drama, things are largely being kept under Red Directive secrecy. However we now at least know who will be leading the new class ahead of the shows production...
[Review] Life Itself…. Discovery S5E10
Trapped between two black holes, the doorway to the Progenitor's legacy is wide open. Discovery's on guarding duty following Burnham chasing Moll inside while the Breen are recovering to take the technology for themselves before a rival faction finds them. With everything to fight for and the chase becoming a race against time, Discovery's crew enter their final house and a bit to end their five season journey.
[Review] LaGrange Point: Discovery S5E09
All the pieces of the puzzle have been put together. Now with the end in sight, Burnham and her crew are on the edge of their greatest discovery. Yet there are still obstacles in the way with Moll and the Breen having taken possession of the combined Progenitor Artifact, the USS Discovery dead in the water and a potential all out conflict in the background. No wonder Rayner keeps pacing....
[Review] Labyrinths, Discovery S5E08
Hidden behind trials, tests and general annoyances that would drive even a sane person a little bit mad, the final piece of the puzzle is in sight. Hidden within an ancient travelling archive of the galaxy's most prized knowledge, the only problem is figuring out what it all means. Arriving at the Eternal Library, Captain Burnham opens the pages of an ancient Betazoid manuscript looking for the final answer only to find herself trapped in a psychological game where she doesn't even know the question...
[Review] Erigah: Discovery S5E7
Answering a distress call sent my Mol and L'ak, Discovery apprehends the treasure hunters only to find themselves staring down one of several Breen overlords looking to get their hands on the duo leading to a potential revival of war against the devestating power of the Breen. As Burnham and Vance look for a diplomatic answer to a fight they can't win, Moll looks for a way to escape (of course!) while Stamets rounds up the troops to try and figure out the final clue, including recruiting a bored and frustrated Book...
