Bit of a biggie this one: it appears that the identity of the lead character in CBS’s Star Trek: Discovery has been confirmed, as according to Entertainment Weekly, the new Star Trek series’ lead will be none other than Sonequa Martin-Green.
Most famous for playing Sasha in AMC’s The Walking Dead, she will hold the rank of lieutenant commander on the titular starship, and do so as the first African-American woman to lead a Star Trek show.
However, it is a move that will likely have ramifications. Although nothing has been confirmed regarding her future on The Walking Dead, it does beg the question of how long she can sustain a leading role on both shows? With the mortality rate on the latter getting higher the more Negan swings around Lucille, we’re pretty sure this indicates that her days are numbered on the show.
Still, a lead role on a Star Trek TV series is hard to sniff at. While The Walking Dead has – especially of late – only really offered its characters the opportunity to be miserable and driven, we have always liked Martin-Green as an actress. Like pretty much all of the characters on the show, she has been through the mill, but she has always remained intriguing and watchable, if not always best served by the show’s storylines. As a lead on what will undoubtedly be one of next year’s most-watched shows, she will get the screen time she deserves.
She joins a cast that already includes Michelle Yeoh, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Chris Obi, Shazad Latif and Mary Chieffo, with Gretchen J Berg and Aaron Harberts now serving as showrunners in place of the departing Bryan Fuller.
Star Trek Discovery will air on CBS All Access in the US in May 2017, and later on Netflix in the UK. For all the latest TV news, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
