Michelle Yeoh is the first actor announced for CBS’ forthcoming Star Trek: Discovery series.
Update: Deadline has uncovered details of Yeoh’s role: She won’t be playing the lead character like we thought, but Captain Han Bo of the starship Shenzhou (not the Discovery), a ship that “is set to play a big role” in the season.
Original story:
Wonderful news today as we learn of Star Trek: Discovery‘s first major casting: Celebrated actress Michelle Yeoh, known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, will star in the promising series.
The news came via Coming Soon, which also speculated that she is playing lead character “Number One” — a female, human Starfleet officer.
All we really know about the character is that she’s not the Captain of the Discovery, because for once, original showrunner Bryan Fuller wanted a Star Trek story that focused on a different member of the crew.
Related: Bryan Fuller steps down as showrunner on Star Trek: Discovery
Sadly, it was recently announced that Fuller would not be able to serve as showrunner after all, leaving it in the hands of executive producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts.
Fuller will stay on board as creative partner, with Star Trek veteran Nicholas Meyer also staying on board.
Star Trek: Discovery is set to continue and expand on the Star Trek universe’s inclusivity philosophy, and we can expect at least one LGBTQ+ character as part of the cast.
The first 13-episode series unfolds 10 years before the events of the original Star Trek series, taking place within the original/Prime universe.
Brian Fuller wrote the first episode with the 2009 Star Trek movie’s co-writer Alex Kurtzman, and the second episode is penned by Meyer. Emmy nominee David Semel will direct the pilot.
Due to Fuller’s unexpected exit, the premiere of Discovery was delayed from January until May 2017. With Yeoh on board as the series’ lead, we should expect the rest of the main cast to be announced shortly.
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