Television shows are known for time jumps, a trick often use to accelerate a story or breathe new life into a series after many seasons. But Star Trek: Discovery is taking the idea of a time jump to a whole new level. According to the show’s creator Alex Kurtzman, the third season of Discovery will jump ahead 1,000 years in the future. “The farthest that any Star Trek series has gone before,” he confirmed.
The news comes out of San Diego Comic-Con, at the “Enter the Star Trek Universe” panel in Hall H on Saturday morning. It’s not a total shocker to viewers of the show: the second season ended with the Discovery headed into a time warp. What does the show look like now that our characters are 1,000 years in the future? “There will be things you recognize and don’t recognize,” Kurtzman told the audience, according to Deadline.
In addition to the massive time jump, season 3 will also reveal the new captain of the Discovery, while Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham goes through “a lot of changes,” says Kurtzman.
For fans worried that the time jump might mean changing the show’s focus or erasing what we know of familiar characters and planets, fear not. Kurtzman assured the audience that the creators are not erasing anything in canon, and that “every conversation about how we create Star Trek is filtered through Rodenberry’s optimistic vision of Star Trek.”
The other big announcement from the panel is that Nightflyers actor David Ajala is joining the cast of Star Trek: Discovery. He’ll play a series regular in season 3, a character named Cleveland “Book” Booker. Book was described as a “rule breaker” who joins the series after the time jump.
Welcome to Discovery, Book! #DavidAjala #Season3 pic.twitter.com/m575cefcaU
— Discovery Writers (@StarTrekRoom) July 20, 2019
We’ll keep you posted as more news about Star Trek: Discovery–including a return date for season 3–becomes available.
Images: CBS