One of America’s favorite zombie killers is heading into space for the sake of our future.
According to a freshly published report from Entertainment Weekly, when Star Trek returns to the small (streaming) screen next year, it will be with The Walking Dead‘s Sonequa Martin-Green as the lead. She’ll be joining Michelle Yeoh for 2017’s looming Star Trek: Discovery and will become the first African-American woman leading a Trek ensemble. It won’t be in a captain’s position, though. EW‘s sources indicate that Martin-Green will play a lieutenant commander, albeit one that is the main focus of the new Trek adventure. This approach seems to be in line with what former showrunner Bryan Fuller told the magazine in the days before he bid adieu to his duties with the CBS All Access offering.
“We’ve seen six series from the captain’s point of view,” said Fuller when speaking with the press in August. “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.”
Potential viewers that were left a bit nervous by Fuller splitting from Star Trek: Discovery (yo!) should at least be encouraged by how casting has gone so far. Also, this news isn’t signing the death warrant for Martin-Green’s Walking Dead alter-ego Sasha Williams. EW reports that her Starfleet duties won’t result in Martin-Green leaving the AMC misery carnival. So, uh, have fun rooting for this woman we all like not to die in an agonizingly brutal fashion on cable?
(Via Entertainment Weekly)