The upcoming second season of ‘Star Trek: Discovery, ‘ will introduce Ethan Peck as Spock. Fans have taken issue in the past with the treatment of ‘Trek’ canon by ‘Discovery,’ and it is only natural that questions about the new Spock and his place in the storyline have come up.
Executive producer Alex Kurtzman has addressed the issue and says fans shouldn’t worry about the character contradicting the canon that has been established over the past 52 years. Speaking during New York Comic Con, Kurtzman explained that this version of Spock isn’t a carbon copy of the one from ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ yet. He said:
“What gets me so excited about the story that we get to tell with Spock this season is that it’s the unwritten chapter of Spock. This is not the Spock that you know from the beginning of TOS, this is pre-TOS. He is not that formed Vulcan yet. His experience with the Red Angel and the signals has fried his logical brain. He cannot make sense of it. And he is emotionally ill-equipped to deal with it. So both logic and emotion are failing him, totally. And he is totally unsure of himself and trying to figure out how to make sense of the mystery and where he fits into the world. And it’s through his complicated relationship with his sister that he’s able to figure out how to become and actualize himself as the Spock that we know from TOS. And that’s really exciting to us because it in no way violates canon, it just builds on what’s been set before.”
The interpretation of Spock that Kurtzman is speaking about comes from an episode called ‘The Cage,’ which is better known as the original pilot episode of ‘Star Trek.’ In canon, the episode takes place three years before when ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 2 picks up and about 11 years before ‘Star Trek: The Original Series.’
Kurtzman explained that he used certain “gray areas” from ‘Trek’ stories as inspiration for ‘Discovery,’ saying:
“We are going to bring everything into alignment at the end of the season, and ‘The Cage’ will be touched on, but in ways that I think are hopefully surprising and unexpected. I think one of the things that I’ve really enjoyed in my time working on Star Trek is looking at stories that have been told but then really examining them for the gray areas, the areas where certain things can be filled in or built on, without violating canon. So that’s a big part of what we’re doing this season.”
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 2 hits CBS All Access in January of next year.
