After months of speculation and mounting anticipation, the casting announcements for ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ are finally starting to come fast and furious! In addition to the initial announcements that closed out November and another from earlier this week, we have now received word that the series’ lead role has finally been cast!
It has been announced via Deadline that the lead role on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ will be played by Sonequa Martin-Green, who is perhaps best known for her role as Sasha Williams on ‘The Walking Dead’. But what about the character herself? As with prior casting announcements, this one is accompanied by some new information about the character in question. Previously known only as “Number One”, Martin-Green’s character has now been identified as Lieutenant Commander Rainsford. Rainsford has previously been described by co-creator and former executive producer Bryan Fuller as “a sensitive hero” and “a lieutenant commander with caveats.”
No word yet on the fate of Martin-Green’s character on ‘The Walking Dead’, though Deadline cites unnamed sources which say she will remain a regular on the series. Ultimately, the answer to this question will almost certainly depend on the success of ‘Discovery’ and whether or not two shows’ production schedules begin to overlap. Of course, in the worst case scenario, ‘The Walking Dead’ has never exactly shied away from killing off even the most seemingly integral characters.
The pilot episode of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ will premiere on CBS on an as yet unspecified date in May 2017. After that, the series will move to the CBS All Access streaming service for all subsequent episodes, which will also be available on Netflix in certain territories. The series’ confirmed cast members so far include Michelle Yeoh, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Chris Obi, Shazad Latif, and Mary Chieffo.
Be sure to keep checking back with ScienceFiction.com for more news on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ as it becomes available, and for other great ‘Star Trek’ content!
