Star Trek: Discovery takes place 10 years before the events of The Original Series, meaning it could easily stand on its own, apart from the rest of the franchise. However, we just learned at San Diego Comic-Con that there’s a surprising, weird, and somewhat concerning family connection that producers promise won’t break Trek‘s canon… though it’s hard to see how.
During the panel, Sonequa Martin-Green revealed that her character, First Officer Michael Burnham, is actually the adoptive daughter of Sarek and Amanda — that’s right, Spock’s parents. According to Martin-Green, Sarek and Amanda took Burnham in after her parents were killed and she was raised on Vulcan. Sarek is also the one who committed her to Captain Philippa Georgiou, which explains their connection and relationship.
This essentially means that Michael Burnham is Spock’s adoptive sister, which raises a lot of questions: The main one is how we went an entire series, several movies, and two universes without Spock ever mentioning he had a sister. It seems unlike Spock to completely ignore someone who seemed to be a major part of his life — especially one who came into his life after such tragedy.
At the Star Trek: Discovery panel, producer Alex Kurtzman promised there actually is a really good explanation for how Michael disappeared out of Spock’s life so completely, which will keep Trek’s canon in tact. Unfortunately, they’re keeping that explanation to themselves.
“We’re aware [of the situation],” Kurtzman said during the panel. “You’ll see where it’s going, but we are staying consistent with canon.”
Star Trek: Discovery debuts on September 24 with a 15-episode season.