Ever since the original series episode “Errand of Mercy” aired in 1967, the warrior race known as the Klingons have been the #1 adversary of the United Federation of Planets in the Star Trek franchise, eclipsing the Romulans and other hostile aliens that were introduced even earlier in the series.
In later incarnations of Trek, like The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, the Klingons were allies and even crew members—then sometimes enemies again—but always important to the overall mythos. Enterprise explained how the human/Klingon animosity first started. And now Star Trek: Discovery is going to expand on that early conflict even more.CBS All Access has just released a new teaser for Discovery, focusing on this newest iteration of the Klingons. You can watch it down below, then we’ll unpack just what we think it all means.
We must fight for one thing above all: to remain Klingon. https://t.co/zyUNS2I9Af #StarTrekDiscovery pic.twitter.com/gviA8SP8co
— Star Trek: Discovery (@startrekcbs) August 25, 2017
Although this promo is brief, it tells us a good deal of what to expect with the Discovery version of Klingons. The promo spotlights T’Kuvma—played by Chris Obi—whose voiceover dialog in the clip seems to be in response to the Federation “We come in peace” promo, and it addresses the notion that in the era before Kirk and Spock, the Klingon Empire was afraid that the Federation was going to wipe out their culture and their way of life.
It should be noted, these Klingons have a drastically different look than any Klingons we’ve seen before in the franchise, while still looking obviously like Klingons. This has been chalked up to being members of different houses within the Klingon Empire having different cultures and even appearances, much as humans on Earth do. Whether we see the more human looking non-bumpy headed Klingons who are also around at this time remains a mystery, but it would be cool if Discovery adhered to this but of continuity.
The Klingons were an allegory for the USSR in the original series, so will these Klingons be an allegory for something like ISIS in today’s world? Star Trek has always been allegorical to modern times and concerns, and it seems this time won’t be any different.
Star Trek: Discovery premieres on September 24th on CBS, before heading to the CBS All-Access streaming service for the rest of the series. And if you want to know more, click hear to read everything we know about the series thus far!
Are you excited about these all-new, all-different Klingons? Be sure to let us known down below in the comments.
Images: CBS All Access