We’re mere hours away from the big Star Trek: Discovery panel at Comic-Con this afternoon, but the cast of the upcoming series are already making a splash in San Diego!
Series actors Sonequa Martin-Green (Michael Burnham), Jason Isaacs (Captain Lorca), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Paul Stamets), James Frain (Sarek), Doug Jones (Lt. Cmdr. Saru), and Mary Wiseman (Cadet Tilly) all surprised unsuspecting fans this morning at the Michael J. Wolf Fine Art gallery, where the Discovery props and costumes we’ve been featuring are on display.
Finally, the collective crew, along with a host of Discovery off-screen talent, joined CBS Consumer Products’ VP John Van Citters in the command chair on-site.
In our third round of coverage on the incredible Star Trek: Discovery production gallery at San Diego Comic-Con this week, it’s time to take a look at newly-revealed concept art, driving the look of the series headed to television this fall!
Along with the props and costumes from Discovery on display at the off-site Michael J. Wolf Fine Art gallery near the Comic-Con venue, CBS has also brought a number of highly-detailed — and highly-colorful — sketches and digital designs which are guiding the production team through the pilot and first season of Discovery episodes.
First is a look at the starships of the new series, with looks at final designs of both the USS Shenzhou and USS Discovery vessels, digital models created via CGI.
Captain Georgiou’s USS SHENZHOU.Captain Lorca’s USS DISCOVERY.More views of the USS DISCOVERY model.
Along with the exterior models of the ships, we also get a view of the Shenzhou‘s transporter room, revealed via production photography back in June:
Philippa Georgoiu (Michelle Yeoh) and Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) prepare to transport.
In addition, a striking image of Georgiou and Burnham’s hike across the desert is represented in bright orange and red hues:
Philippa Georgoiu (Michelle Yeoh) and Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) in desert gear.
Also glimpsed is a look at one of the alien creatures seen in May’s Discovery teaser trailer, here labeled as a “crepuscular.”
The ‘crepuscular’ alien as seen on-screen.
Finally, like the props and costumes seen previously, we also get to see some new concept artwork behind the Klingon side of the series.
The SHENZHOU faces off against an armada of Klingon vessels.…and the armada detected on SHENZHOU’s sensors.A Klingon freighter moves silently through a desolate star system.An insect-like Klingon ‘raider’ seems to be a one-man attack ship.The Klingon ‘sarcophagus ship’ first revealed through leaks in 2016.The interior of the Sarcophagus ship, ornate and ancient.The interior of the Sarcophagus ship, on-screen.The mysterious and ancient Klingon sarcphagus, glowing with an unknown power.…and rising above T’Kuvma in the teaser trailer.
Thanks once more to Doyle Zhang (@StarTrekChina) for contributing to our photographic coverage of the exhibit — and stay tuned later this evening for our full report on the Star Trek: Discovery panel at Comic-Con!
Along with the epic Klingon armor and accessories on display at San Diego Comic-Con this week that we featured yesterday, Star Trek: Discovery‘s Starfleet contingent also gets its spotlight — with loads of uniform, technology, and props on display for fans to marvel over!
The gallery’s front display, and interior signage.
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On display at the off-site Michael J. Wolf Fine Art gallery near the Comic-Con venue, CBS’s Star Trek: Discovery gallery is filled to the brim with Federation gear, including a traveling edition of the USS Discovery’s captain’s chair, presented in front of a greenscreen for fan photo ops.
Once inside and past the captain’s chair display, you enter the world of the 23rd Century — with props and costumes right out of the newly-designed Starfleet seen in the upcoming series, starting with the impressive EVA suit worn by Michael Burnham in the May teaser trailer.
Burnham, out in space.
The Starfleet Long Haul EV suit was built in the UK. It was milled from a high-density foam as one unit and then draped in fiberglass.
The suit was then sectioned into pieces that fit as a clamshell over the actor’s body. The optically clear lens of extruded plastic was made from a 3D scan of the helmet and had to be perfect to frame the suit’s frame.
The ‘optically clear’ helmet.The finely-detailed glove and trouser elements, complete with tiny hexagons and Starfleet deltas for shielding.
Another great shot of the deltas on the EV suit from Cait Petrakovitz:
The familiar Starfleet Command / UFP logo graces the center of the suit.
The updated Starfleet weaponry teased on social media this week had a display case all to their own, with an up-close-and-personal look at the revised phaser pistol and phaser rifle props.
The new Type II phaser pistol.A look at the “Cage”-inspired trio of emitter ports.A great update to the classic Type I phaser up top, with Starfleet delta.Two views of the new heavy-duty phaser rifle.
Along with weaponry comes all the other accessories a well-prepared member of a Starfleet landing party requires: a tricorder and communicator!
Starfleet gear, along with a collection of new insignia badges.
Starfleet badges were made to match the trim of the uniforms and are matched to Starfleet divisions: command (gold), sciences and medical (silver), and operations (copper).
The gold, copper, and silver badges were made in Toronto by making wax models from 3D prints, then creating plaster molds for silicon bronze to be poured into. The bronze badges are then polished and plated by a jeweler to create the custom colors for ‘Discovery.’
The retro – yet modernized – communicator.
Standard issue by Starfleet Command for away missions, the communicator design is heavily influenced by the original ‘Star Trek’ and is made from milled aluminum.
The new and improved tricorder, with a smartphone screen for digital displays.A top view, along with a removable hand scanner.
Standard issue by Starfleet Command for scanning and recording data on away missions, the tricorder was built and painted in Los Angeles and its screen employs the use of a smart phone with video looping images and includes a removable hand-held scanner.
It was made entirely with a 3D printer.
The hand-held scanner of a TNG-era medical tricorder.
Along with Starfleet’s offerings, CBS had a few bits of civilian costuming on deck for fans as well, with both Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd and James Frain’s Sarek getting their own corners of the display.
The charismatic conman and intergalactic criminal Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson) returns to ‘Star Trek: Discovery.’ Mudd has the distinction of being the only guest star on the original ‘Star Trek’ to be featured in two episodes.
Designed by Gersha Phillips and built by the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ costume team, Mudd’s costume is primarily leather and inspired by Adam Ant.
Sarek’s ambassadorial robes.A complex collar.
The father of Spock, husband to Amanda Grayson, and mentor to Michael Burnham, Ambassador Sarek (James Frain) is a Vulcan diplomat held in extremely high esteem. His traditional robes reflect the Vulcan culture and its devotion to a life of pure logic, serious intellectual pursuits, and spiritual contemplation.
Sarek’s costume is designed by Gersha Phillips and built in Toronto by the costume department of ‘Star Trek: Discovery.’
The IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) pendant is worn by Vulcan Science Academy graduates, as well as professors and high scholars.
This pendant was 3D printed and hand painted in Toronto.
Finally, the collection of costumes that have drawn the most attention since they were first revealed back in January: the new Starfleet uniforms of Star Trek: Discovery!
First up is Command gold, worn by captains and first officers.
Standard Command officer vs. captain-ranked uniform shoulders.
This two-piece Starfleet duty uniform is worn by First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) aboard the USS Shenzhou. The gold side compression panels and delta shield pattern signifies an officer in the command division, as does the ‘command star’ insignia on the Starfleet badge.
The fabric for the Starfleet duty uniforms is dyed a custom navy blue in Switzerland, then cut and built in Toronto by the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ costume team under the direction of costume designer Gersha Phillips.
A short-sleeve variant, toned with copper highlights for the Operations division.
This is a variant duty uniform worn by Starfleet officers that features elbow-length sleeves and alternate detailing. The copper side compression panels and delta shield pattern signifies an officer in Starfleet’s operations division, which encapsulates security and engineering functions.
Sciences silver.
Color-matching boots.
This is a standard Starfleet duty uniform typical of those worn by Lieutenant Commander Saru (Doug Jones) on the USS Shenzhou and Lieutenant Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) aboard the USS Discovery.
The silver side compression panels and delta shield pattern signifies an officer in Starfleet’s sciences division.
Body armor for protection – but will it absorb Klingon disruptor blasts?Note the shoulder-mounted beacons for low-light assistance.A thigh-mounted phaser holster.
Starfleet officers engaged in combat situations or potentially hazardous away missions are issued an armored tactical vest and distinctive version of the duty uniform, trading metallic accents for a low-profile navy compression panel.
Laser flashlights are installed in the shoulders of the vests for guidance. Vests also contain additional functional elements for attaching specialized mission gear.
Lastly, the Star Trek: Discovery gallery revealed a first look at a brand new Starfleet uniform, for medical officers aboard ship. This white-and-silver design was glimpsed for barely a few frames in the released teaser trailer, and can now be studied in its sterile design up close.
Matching boots, of course.
Medical officers wear ‘hospital white’ variants of Starfleet science division uniforms. The silver side compression panels and delta shield pattern signifies medical’s place within the science division, but are marked by a distinctive badge insignia.
Whatever your feelings on how some of these prop and uniform designs may fit into the Star Trek canon, there’s no denying the quality and production value that CBS’s team has put into bringing these new elements to life.
Thanks once more for our friend Doyle Zhang (@StarTrekChina) for allowing us to feature his wonderful photographs of this exhibit.
Coming tomorrow: a look at Discovery concept art on display ahead of the big Comic-Con cast panel Saturday afternoon!
With the release of ‘Star Trek Beyond’ in 2016, viewers were given a spectacular visual treat as a whole host of new aliens made their appearance for the first time in the rebooted franchise.
At the heart of the process of bringing these breathtaking intergalactic species to life was Academy Award-winning make-up artist Joel Harlow. Together with his team of amazingly talented creatives, Harlow set to work on creating aliens from over 50 different races for the film and documented the entire creative process for each one in exhaustive detail, from preliminary sketches to final make-up application.
‘Star Trek Beyond – The Makeup Artistry of Joel Harlow’ presents the extraordinary work done by Harlow and his crew. Featuring fascinating pencil sketches, stunning concept art and beautiful photography, this visually arresting book gives fans a unique in-depth look into the remarkable work that went into this immensely popular movie.
After several weeks of curiosity, Titan has released the first set of preview pages for the upcoming hardcover, looking at just a few of the epic designs that Harlow and his team somehow found a way to translate from sketch to screen.
Transforming Sofia Boutella into Jaylah. (Titan Books)Idris Elba in one of Krall’s many looks. (Titan Books)Actor Danny Pudi goes from human to alien – the scavenger Fi’Ja. (Titan Books)The featured Natalia, played by Ashley Edner. (Titan Books)
We’ll bring you preview details of the second art book, November’s The Art of Star Trek: The Kelvin Timeline, as soon as more information is released from Titan Books.
In the meantime, you can lock in your preorders for these sure-to-be-fascinating releases below!
For this year’s 35th anniversary of 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, movie theaters across the United States will be bringing the Trek classic back to the big screen in September across North America.
Nick Meyers’ extended directors’ cut of the second Star Trek film, remastered and re-edited to include some scenes not present in the standard theatrical release, will beam back to movie theaters on September 10.
The TWOK Director’s Cut Blu-ray, released in 2016.
No specific showtimes or locations which will be hosting the special screenings have been announced yet, but you can watch Fandango for local screenings near you.
They’re here: the first available Star Trek: Discovery insignia badges, featuring the new split-delta design from the upcoming series!
Revealed by QMx at San Diego Comic-Con today, the company is rolling out a set of four magnetic Starfleet badges — representing the four divisions of the crew: command in gold, operations in copper, and both sciences and medical in silver — at a starting cost of only $14.95 each.
While QMx is “not planning on including the [rank] pips” in the current versions, the company said on Twitter that that may come in a later release.
Expected to be available soon at QMx’s online store, the metal badges will come with magnetic backers to let fans wear them without the need for pins or other fasteners.
— GeekFilter 🖖 Unapologetic Enderprizian (@GeekFilter) July 20, 2017
Also available is a smaller, split-delta command insignia, already up for sale at the convention today – so if you’ve got a few extra bucks, you can start your Discovery swag collection at QMx’s booth (4145) on the convention floor.
Comic-Con is finally here, as the annual media and entertainment fan expo opened its doors to the masses in San Diego today – and we’re getting our first looks at the wild Star Trek: Discovery props and costumes displayed on site!
The centerpiece of CBS’s Discovery display has to be the ornate, 3D-printed “Klingon Torchbearer,” created by Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page, first on display Wednesday evening in a scaled-down display from Gentle Giant studios:
Armored protection covers every inch of this Klingon spacesuit.Each boot holds an ornate d’k tahg blade, ready for combat in vacuum.
Seen in the May teaser trailer facing off against Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) on the hull of a space vessel, this suit is a combination of both a spacesuit and battle armor, only able to be “worn by a warrior” who is “chosen through a sacred ritual” to “sound the call for all [Klingon] houses to unite.”
Also on display were a pair of d’k tagh blades, the traditional Klingon weapon first introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Adorned here with amazing texture and detailing – down to the Klingon face on the blade’s hilt and tlhIngan Hol (Klingonese) writing on the blade.
The d’k tagh blade, closed……and with blades extended.A far cry from the original d’k tagh from ‘Star Trek III,’ for sure!
It's difficult to make out, but I'm pretty sure it reads THERE IS HONOR IN DEATH
In CBS’s off-site Star Trek: Discovery gallery, the Klingon invasion continues in full force with a wide variety of costumes and props to wow convention-goers — and each display (quoted below) contains behind-the-scenes information on each display item.
A life-size Torchbearer suit is on display in that off-site gallery, which is most definitely an intimidating sight to behold – especially with his full-scale, deadly d’k tagh blade.
Built by Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page’s Alchemy Studios in Los Angeles, the ceremonial blades located on the boots of the Torchbearer’s suite are ornate, re-imagined versions fo the classic and beloved Klingon weapons from ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ and other ‘Star Trek’ films and series.
The daggers, helmets, and full suits have embraced and augmented the cultural notes from ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ Klingons, employing a mixture of Middle Eastern, Mongolian, and Byzantine influences to achieve the Klingon aesthetic.
The incredible outfit worn by Klingon leader T’Kuvma (Chris Obi) is another highly-detailed design, one that once again uses both 3D printing for detail and also includes Swarovski crystals – along with an amazingly-intricate helmet design reserved for a high-ranking warrior, and other outfits worn by members of the House of T’Kuvma.
T’Kuvma (Chris Obi) seeks to unite the 24 great Klingon houses to halt the encroachment of others. His elaborate clothing honors ancient Klingon ways and the path of honor set forth by Kahless the Unforgettable.
Designed by Gersha Phillips and Suttirat Anne Larlarb, this ornate costume is comprised of tow prime layers: a tunic and a chest plate. The tunic is made up of three types of leather and molded with task and hydraulic tubing to form panels into a skirt.
The intricate chest plate is made up of 3D printed beads with a magnetic back closure that creates a seamless appearance, claw-like Swarovski crystals, and vintage lace around the collar.
Built by Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page’s Alchemy Studios in Los Angeles, this is an example of a high-ranking officer’s personalized helmet and collar.
Each warrior’s battle armor bears a unique, signature look as a matter of honor. The full body armor suit and helmet can fully retract and extend from the collar itself, by combining physical elements and VFX compositing in post-production.
This House of T’Kuvma gray Klingon uniform is representative of the style worn by members and followers of the House. These more ancient Klingon designs pay tribute to Klingon ancestors and the path of honor walked by Kahless the Unforgettable.
The warrior uniforms are painstakingly built piece by piece with hand-pressed leathers that are individually stained, painted, and molded for texture. This ornate costume is designed by Gersha Phillips and Suttirat Anne Laarlarb, and takes a team of 10 costumers an estimated 110 hours to create.
Armor worn by female members of the House of T’Kuvma.Armor worn by female members of the House of T’Kuvma.
Finally, what would a Klingon be without his weapons? On display are the new series’ take on traditional bladed bat’leth and mek’leth weapons… as well as their deadly disruptors.
Bat’leth, bat’leth, on the wall – who’s the fiercest warrior of them all?
The preferred weapon of the Klingon warrior, the bat’leth was made in Toronto. It was originally hand-sculpted out of a high-density foam. That sculpt was then turned into a 3D model and milled out of aluminum. The surface of the blade is hand-carved from a poured resin and the handle is also hand-carved from foam and then cast in rubber.
A pair of mek’leths, ready to hurt someone.
A ceremonial bladed weapon of Klingon warriors that is used in close quarters combat. Traditional mek’leths are often individualized to both the Klingon warrior and their house.
This mek’leth was made in Toronto from hand sculpted high-density foam. That sculpt was then turned into a 3D model and milled out of aluminum. The surface of the blade is hand carved from a poured resin and the handle is also hand carved from foam and then cast in rubber.
A Klingon disruptor (front) and disruptor rifle, complete with blades – of course.
Used by Klingon warriors with a bat’leth won’t do, the rifle was inspired by the ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ disruptor and made to look as nasty as possible. The rifle is 3D printed with an aluminum center hollowed out to house electronics and batteries.
A special thanks to Doyle Zhang (@StarTrekChina) and LC Thurston (@lcthurston) for sharing their photography with TrekCore for this report.
Soon to come: a round-up of all the Starfleet gear on-site in San Diego!
If you’re an avid collector of Hallmark’s Star Trek ornaments like I am, then you likely eye the “event exclusive” ornament releases with anticipation. Following last year’s event-exclusive NCC-1701 ornament, this year’s exclusive is the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C, featured in the classic Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.”
The ‘C,’ you say? Hasn’t that been gracing my Christmas tree for the last few years?
Not this version of the ship! This year’s take on the ill-fated starship is a ‘battle-damaged’ take on the Enterprise-C, as seen on-screen in the TNG Season 3 episode.
While the base model appears to be the same 2015’s Enterprise-C standard release, this event-exclusive version has a modified paint job meant to reflect the aftermath of her encounter with the Romulans at Narendra III.
Like that original ornament, Hallmark’s revised Enterprise-C features interior lighting on both the warp nacelles and the forward deflector dish, each of which glow a bright red or blue using the integrated LEDs (powered by a series of watch batteries under the secondary hull).
Lighting is activated by pressing a small button found on the top of the bridge module.
As with the original, the ship lights up under battery power.
As fans may recall, when the Enterprise-C comes through the time rift in “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, she’s clearly seen better days — there are phaser blasts and scorch marks all over her, and she’s downright grungy in appearance… hardly the spit-polished and shiny new version that the 2015 ornament was meant to portray.
The sculpt of the 2017 edition itself is great, matching the 2015 sister version rather exactly. In the end, the only real difference between the ornaments is the updated battle-damage paint — and unfortunately, that’s where I find myself a bit disappointed with the updated ornament.
The 2017 (left) and 2015 (right) Enterprise-C ornaments.The underside of each ornament variant.
A portion of the saucer and primary hull on the new model has been painted a darker shade of grey, but it isn’t carried across all of the ship — from the studio photograph of the ornament, it seems quite subtle, but these different grey tones are much more obvious on the ornament itself, and the areas that remain nearly-white stand out for their lack of shading.
The blue hull paint, other light grey elements, and Starfleet markings are otherwise just as bright as on the 2015 counterpart. Looking back at the episode, the whole ship looked dirty, with nothing bright about her — so it seems an odd choice to not treat this ‘battle-damaged’ version with a bit of a darker paint wash to tame that brightness, and further distinguish it from the original version.
Some areas have a darker grey applied, but not in a consistent – or smoothly-blended – way.
The scorches are plentiful, and that does help set it apart from the 2015 model, but when compared with stills from the episode, these marks just don’t feel right. As someone who paints miniatures as a hobby (albeit Dungeons and Dragon ones, not Trek ships), to me the battle damage looks like it was applied with a half-dried permanent marker.
This is particularly true for the bottom of the secondary hull, where it looks like someone just made randomly-placed X-shaped markings with a felt-tip pen, rather than being applied in a more organic shaping, intensity, and placement — it truly appears drawn on the hull.
‘X’ marks the starship.
The model could have benefited from some dry brushing with a wider-tipped brush, which would have made the damage more natural and amorphous in shape. And it’s not as if this kind of realistic battle damage paint job can’t be done; this year’s other starship ornament, Hallmark’s take on the USS Franklin from Star Trek Beyond, has much more natural-looking ‘damage’ though its paint application.
It also would have been nice if the location of the markings was a little more screen-accurate in terms of placement on the hull, too, but it doesn’t seem like episodic reference stills were used much – if at all – in marking up the Enterprise-C.
Battle damage on the screen-used Enterprise-C model. (Image enhanced.)
I realize it’s just an ornament, and I don’t think anyone expects a totally screen-perfect replica — but at the same time, this ‘battle damage’ appears to have been really applied in a haphazardly manner, less evocative of a starship that escaped a trio of Romulan warbirds, and more like the ship went through a poorly-piloted docking maneuver at Earth Station McKinley.
The completionist in me knows that if I were at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend that I’d be waiting in line to grab this ornament, despite its flaws — after all, I’ve gotta’ have ’em all — but it feels more like someone took the easy way out on this one, finding a recent design that could be quickly modified to have an ‘exclusive’ for this year’s convention season.
For those of you interested in picking up one of these Enterprise-C ornament variants, the only places you’ll be able to find them are at Comic-Con International (San Diego, July 20-23), the Official 2017 Star Trek Convention (Las Vegas, August 2-6), and New York Comic Con (October 5-8) — but be quick, only 225 of these will be released per day at each event.
If you can’t get to one of these cons and want your own battle-damaged Enterprise-C, then you could always pick up an extra 2015 version and paint it yourself.
San Diego Comic-Con kicks off in full swing tomorrow out in California, and with just days left to go before Saturday’s big Star Trek: Discovery panel – sure to bring plenty of new insight about the coming series – there’s still some more pre-event info arriving!
First up, CBS continued their roll-out of Discovery prop spotlight videos today, with a new ten-second clip that features all the previous props – phaser, insignia, uniform, etc. – but also appears to have snuck in a glimpse at the new Starfleet tricorders used by the Shenzhou and Discovery crews.
It passes by quickly, but here’s a snap of the new tricorder display screen, along with what appears to be a possible sensing instrument which accompanies it.
A new sensor unit?Tricorder display panel.
The display format of this tricorder seems to be similar in nature to the Starfleet scanner seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (below), which had a central display above controls on the body of the unit.
Sulu scans while on planet Genesis. (“Star Trek III: The Search for Spock”)
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Announced today, the cast and crew of Star Trek: Discovery will be appearing at August’s annual Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, the yearly summit of Trek fans sure to be a welcoming crowd to the new show’s team.
Like at Comic-Con this week, the convention will feature a display of Discovery props and special exhibits highlighting the new series.
Star Trek: Discovery will help kick off Star Trek Las Vegas with appearances by cast members, writers, producers, and designers on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 2nd in the Leonard Nimoy Theater. And that’s not all, as Star Trek.com and CBS ALL ACCESS will bring multiple exhibits, special panels, daily contests, authors and much more to the five-day event.
* * *
Also announced today is the official street date and description of Star Trek: Discovery #1, the tie-in comic from IDW Publishing launching along with the series this fall.
Star Trek: Discovery #1—Cover A: Tony Shasteen—GEM OF THE MONTH
Mike Johnson, Kirsten Beyer (w) • Tony Shasteen (a & c)
Warp into adventure with this new comic book series that ties into the new Star Trek television show premiering in late September on CBS All Access in the U.S., the Space channel in Canada and Netflix throughout the rest of the world! Details remain secretive so we can’t show you covers yet, but we can tell you that you won’t want to miss this very special KLINGON-centric series. Be prepared for action, adventure, and Star Trek at its best!
Written by longtime Trek comic scribe Mike Johnson and series (and Trek novel) writer Kirsten Beyer, the as-yet-unseen comic debuts in October 25, with variant “Ships of the Line” cover art from Declay Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire.
* * *
Finally, images of the SDCC Discovery exhibits and special event features are already hitting the web ahead of the official opening.
You can see below a number of social media photos from both the fan Discovery Captain’s Chair booth, as well as our first look at the props and artwork on display at the special Discovery gallery in San Diego.
We know little about Doug Jones‘ alien character in Star Trek: Discovery, the alien Lt. Saru who first appeared on-camera in May’s series teaser trailer.
“My people were biologically determined,” says Saru in the teaser, “for one purpose alone: to sense the coming of death.”
Saru (Doug Jones) offers an ominous warning. (CBS)
What the heck does that mean? Well, today, Discovery producer Aaron Harberts and the man himself, Doug Jones, spoke to Entertainment Weekly and detailed a bit more background on Saru, who hails from a race known as the Kelpians.
From Harberts, with EW‘s James Hibbard elaborating:
What we can tell you that adds the context to that clip where he says he can sense the coming of death is that he comes from a planet where he’s a ‘prey species.’ He’s the first of his kind to make it to Starfleet.
On Saru’s planet, there’s a dominant predator species that constantly imperils another weaker species called Kelpiens. As part of the latter group, Saru has evolved with heightened survival instincts. Such prey species tend to have a cowardly reputation in the Federation, but Saru should not be underestimated.
Saru takes in a sight from the Shenzou viewscreen with wonder. (CBS)
Jones also revealed a bit more about Saru’s place among the crew of Starfleet officers with which he serves:
[Producers] said Saru is the Spock of the series, he’s the Data of the series — and those are beloved characters that I always connect with whenever I would watch the past incarnations of ‘Star Trek.’
On ‘Falling Skies,’ I played an alien species who came to Earth to help the humans fight back the bad aliens who’d taken over, and I was intelligent, well-spoken, had a lot of answers and science-y smart. Saru is all of those things and then some.
We’ll learn more about Saru and his people when Discovery debuts in September.
Star Trek:
Star Trek Beyond:
The Art of Star Trek:
