The designers from ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ are no strangers to classic ‘Star Trek’ races, having worked on designs for the Klingons, the Tellarites, and the Andorians. And if they have their way, another iconic race will be getting a makeover, the Borg.
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ creature designer Neville Page and makeup designer Glenn Hetrick gave an interview on Facebook live about designing the series. They took questions from fans, including one asking how they would redesign the Borg for ‘Discovery.’
The two revealed that the Borg is one of the alien races they’d most like to work on. Page explained:
“It’s got to look like a Borg, and that was established. There’s a particular aesthetic choice that was made by I believe Mr. [Michael] Westmore, but for me, I think the coolest challenge, because I like to do this with any design that I do, is to make sense of those choices. It’s kind of reverse engineering why there’s tubes and stuff going in and out of things. It would be to try and make sense of that and then contemporize that aesthetic with what audiences demand today and expect.”
Hetrick added:
“I also think that there’s, again, it’s me, so there’s got to be a little room for a little steampunk in there. A little antediluvian something. So not too retro, and not a gear, but there is a biomech feel to the the whole thing, so to go to [HR] Geiger and steampunk and find a new way to combine it and maybe play with the colors and bring the palette out of the greys and the blacks and find some rusty and cool metallic tones, then also start defining the flesh in a different way. If some of those limbs are necrotic, is the tube pumping life back into them? Do they change color depending on how long they’ve been in the collective? How does the body stay alive?”
He continued:
“There are so many things to play with. It’s sort of just taking what’s there and playing with it. Michael Westmore Jr. did all the lasers and lights inside of all the little LED components. That’s something today with 3D printing we can push infinitely further. We can do a lot more lighting and more moving parts.”
The first season of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ is available to stream on CBS All Access in the United States, through CraveTV in Canada, and through Netflix in other international markets. ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season Two is now filming in Toronto.
