In their first public event together in the lead up to Discovery’s second season, the cast and crew of Discovery took to the stage in the infamous Hall H at SDCC for an hour long panel on the upcoming season!
Giving news and insight into whats to come, as well as sharing their vision of hope and the future, Tig Notaro led Sonequa Martin-Green, Anthony Rapp, Shazad Latif, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Mary Wiseman, Mary Chieffo, and Anson Mount in discussions alongside showrunner Alex Kurtzman and producer Heather Kadin in front of a ravenous crowd as they were welcomed to the stage.
With a new trailer and new insights, we’ve taken a quick look at the highlights of the night ahead of Discovery’s next foray into space.
New Mission
Unsurprisingly, little was given away about the next series and it’s core story outwith Anthony Rapp explaining to fans that it was very science heavy, which has been a difficult task for him as his dialogue had been carefully crafted to fit very closely with the science aspect of his character. The season is expected to explore more than the first, with new science, new adventures and new challenges to face the crew as they delve into a huge mystery.
The trailer shown to fans afterwards also confirmed that Captain Pike would be temporarily leaving his chair on the Enterprise to take command of Discovery, which allows the show to tackle the first captain of the Enterprise; and the one with the least screen time.
Kurtzman described Pike as Lorca’s opposite; a kind and gentle leader who’s not afraid of owning up to his mistakes and taking his crew opinions on board, with tremendous optimism and a ‘good heart’. While Pike remained largely unexplored in the original series, the recent Kelvin Timeline movies gave a chance for the character to become a mentor to Kirk and the crew. By the looks of things, this version of Pike may just balance out those two previous iterations of the first Captain of the Enterprise.
While the story remains a secret as of now, Kurtzman was also keen to confirm that season two will begin to line up Discovery with what had come before by ‘syncing up canon’ as they get closer to the timeline of the original series.
As for the Klingons, they’ve not been forgotten. While Discovery’s crew go off on a new adventure, L’Rell will be facing the trials of becoming the Chancellor of the Empire by force. And she’ll have the tormented Ash Tyler by her side as we explore their relationship through his adjustment and finding themselves amidst the chaos of their decisions.
While the story, described by Mary Chieffo as a ‘beauty and the beast’ scenario, is largely based on Qo’nos, Kurtzman did add that their storyline and that of Discovery’s will merge and cross paths towards the seasons end.
New Crew
In a surprise announcement by Anson Mount, former Mystique of the original X-Men trilogy was named as the new Number One of the Enterprise, with Romjin confiirming that news soon after through twitter.
Just call me “Number One!” Honored to play such an iconic character in #StarTrek Canon originally played by the First Lady of Star Trek, Majel Barrett-Roddeberry! #StarTrekDiscovery pic.twitter.com/rdpWOxBYAk
— Rebecca Romijn (@RebeccaRomijn) July 20, 2018
Stepping into the shoes of Majel Roddenberry, Romjin will be the first actor to take on the character since the original Trek Pilot, The Cage, which was later re-purposed for Spock’s trial in The Menagerie.
Wilson Cruz was also on hand to point out – again – that he would still be a part of Discovery despite his characters death in the first season. Ever since that moment, Cruz has been vocal about remindng fans that although it seemed to be, his story was far from over.
But of course, the news that brought the most excitement from the crowd was that we would see Spock this season. While they didn’t confirm whether it would be Lieutenant Spock or the younger Spock in Burnham flashbacks (news that Jonathon Frakes let slip months ago), from the trailer it looks certain that everyones favourite Vulcan will likely make an appearance alongside his foster sister, Michael Burnham.
New Worlds
It was made known some time ago that while the first season of Discovery was very closed within the confines of the ship, the second would see the crew get out a bit more.
The trailer did show some shots of an away mission, perhaps from the ship Tig Notaro’s character is assigned to, but during the panel the team let us know about one of the new worlds we’d be exploring in season two: Saru’s homeworld.
On Saru’s world his people, the Kelpians, are the prey to a more dominant species and the season would see a more experienced and confident Saru return.
New Trek
Through the panel we also learned we’d be getting more Trek from the Discovery producers in the form of four shorts to be released in December.
Extending the Discovery world, writer Bo Yeon Kim confirmed that ‘Short Trek’ would be character-centric mini-episodes while Kurtzman mentioned that three of those pieces will revolve around Tilly, Saru and Harry Mudd. The fourth of the character exploration pieces will focus on new character, Craft, portrayed by Aldis Hodge.
There wasn’t much time to discovery more information due to the panel only lasting an hour with Q&A Sessions, but we expect to hear much more over the weeken from interviews, appearances and even Trek merch with Anovos already stunning fans with their replica of the new USS Enterprise model.
Season Two of Discovery is set for release in January 2019, while the first season is available in the UK & Europe on Netflix alnogside all other Star Trek Series (and the latest Kelvi Timeline film, Beyond, has recently been added to the line up!).
We’ll have more news and titbits over the coming week for all SFCQ2 members at Starbase Europa and a full breakdown of the event in our next edition of Comms. To join the discussion, you can join Starfleet Command for free on our enlistment page!
About the author
A Fistful of Down To Earth Adventures
Warping through the stars always searching for the next adventure, it's rare that Star Trek ever comes home to Earth. Through all the series, and highlighted in Enterprise, the third rock from our sun is kinda important in the grand scheme of things but our eyes are always far beyond the stars. So for no particular reason at all - certainly not any recent new series launching - we're taking a look at Trek's more Earthbound moments.... Homefront/Paradise Lost Deep Space Nine Season 4 The Founders said they were everywhere. Now we know they're on Earth. Recordings revealed a founder during the bombing of a Federation meeting on the home-world and Sisko is recalled. His knowledge and experience with the Dominion is vital to securing Earth against the inevitable war. But while the Dominion may be the enemy, they aren't […]
Some Scary Ship! The Griffin Incident; Strange New Worlds S4E02
Returning from a conference for future leaders of Starfleet, Spock and La'an (with Kirk hitching a ride) find a long-lost ship adrift. The USS Griffin's disappearance nine years prior had never been explained, becoming a bit of folklore within the fleet. Stum,bling upon it by chance, the trio board the ship hoping to find an answer to the mystery only to get more than they bargained for... Writers: Robbie Thompson Director: Axelle Carolyn I'll preface this now by pointing out I love creepy sci fi settings.. The isolation of being trapped on a derelict ship with no escape and no one to call for help has always been something I've enjoyed from the obvious Event Horizon, even to old classics like The Thing. So I was excited for this one by the trailer alone and can't say I was disappointed! […]
Mars Attacks! Valles Marineris; Strange New Worlds S4E01
Since losing Batel at the end of the last season, life for the crew of the Enterprise hasn't stopped. Mainly because Pike won'd let them. Racing from mission to mission without even a water break in between, the crew are getting a little run down after six months of back to back nonsense. And it's all because of Pike running away from the loss and burying himself in adventure to keep the grief at bay. As Admiral April pops over for a chat, and to offer Pike a promotion he doesnt seem too interested in, a break doesn't seem to be coming any time soon. Writers: Henry Alonso Myers, Alan B. McElroyDirector: Chris Fisher Sent to investigate some new weird space stuff, things go completely mental when the Enterprise gets pulled into it and thrown, Caretaker style, into an unfamiliar […]
Mark Mitchell; 1969-2026
It's with great sadness we report that our Director of Operations, Mark Mitchell, has sadly passed away suddenly earlier this week. Mark was one of our longest serving members and a huge part of what helped shape what SFCQ2 is today. Having served in leadership as a CO, throughout fleet support and originating the role of Director of Administration, Mark's unyielding dedication to the club and his multiple contributions over the decades undoubtedly make him worthy of his Legend handle. From writing the entire base for our modern Academy to being vital in the fleet restructure, to offering support and advice to countless members to support leadership and direction, Mark's efforts serve, and will likely continue to serve, as the backbone of everything that makes Q2 with his primary goal always being to offer the best of everything and push […]
Gamma Quarter 2403 Promotions & Citations
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due tot he commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this quarter, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. The most obvious form of rewards comes from our naval-based rank structure. Utilising the same base rank structure seen on screen, SFC takes members through their journey as a Starfleet officer by giving members a chance to rise throughout the ranks from Ensign to Captain. Having had an active and exciting year, Lt Commander […]
A Fistful of ‘Spirk’
We've been spoiled with Spock in the past few years with Discovery introducing a younger iteration of the character long before he became the refined man of logic that made him famous, and continued that story through Strange New Worlds and his time under Captain Pike's command. As Strange New Worlds continues, giving more history to the original series line up and the early meetings of Spock and Kirk as it makes way for the beginning of the Kirk era, we thought we'd look back at some moments that made the partnership one of the most popular combinations in science fiction. JOURNEY TO BABEL TOS Season 2 Spock's got a bit of an issue with sharing. Secret brother who was shunned. Secret sister who's fate was classified. And despite trusting the Enterprise crew with his life, it was clearly only […]
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...
