CBS All Access' Star Trek: Discovery series has found its lead in Walking Dead star Sonequa Martin-Green. Sources confirmed the casting to Variety on Wednesday afternoon, revealing she will play a lieutenant-commander. Martin-Green, who has played Sasha Williams on AMC's zombie hit since season 3, is expected to hold it down with both shows for the foreseeable future.
Martin-Green is now the first African-American woman to lead a Star Trek ensemble, something that Discovery co-creator Bryan Fuller has been pushing for since the new series was first announced. "We've seen six series from the captain's point of view," Fuller explained to reporters in August, according toEntertainment Weekly. "To see a character from a [new] perspective on the starship—one who has different dynamic relationships with a captain, with subordinates, it gave us richer context."
Discovery, set to premiere via CBS' All Access streaming service in May, has been steadily rounding out its cast in recent weeks. Martin-Green will be joined by Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Anthony Rapp (The Knick), Doug Jones (Falling Skies), Chris Obi (Roots), and more.
"Bringing Star Trek back to television carries a responsibility and mission: to connect fans and newcomers alike to the series that has fed our imaginations since childhood," executive producers Fuller and Alex Kurtzman said in a joint statement back in September, clarifying the need to push back the release just a tad. "We aim to dream big and deliver, and that means making sure the demands of physical and post-production for a show that takes place entirely in space, and the need to meet an air date, don't result in compromised quality."
Hell yeah. Sounds good to me. Star Trek: Discovery starts up next May.
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