It feels like we’ve known forever that the central figure in Star Trek: Discovery wouldn’t be the captain. And it feels like we’ve known forever that Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead) would be that character. But the character’s name has changed.
Image: CBS
Previously, Martin-Green was going to be playing Lieutenant Commander Rainsford. As of today, Star Trek.com and the Star Trek: Discovery Twitter account are both identifying Martin-Green’s character by a different name:
From walkers to Klingons – #StarTrekDiscovery is pleased to officially welcome @SonequaMG as First Officer Michael Burnham. pic.twitter.com/dpQBH5ePZj
— Star Trek: Discovery (@startrekcbs) April 3, 2017
That’s a name sure to get people wondering if, in the future, “Michael” is a more gender-neutral name than it currently is, or if there’s some other reasoning there. I really hope it’s the former and not part of a giant backstory they will be exploring. I’m mostly kind of annoyed at CBS for putting that name out there with no other information, guaranteeing a lot of speculation. A large amount of which could get really ugly.
CBS was also probably waiting on this official announcement until after Martin-Green’s other show aired its finale, which it did yesterday. And while we know what’s going on over in the zombie future, we’re still waiting to know exactly when we’ll see Star Trek on the small screen again.