Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Star Trek Discovery: Jason Isaacs to play the starship’s captain

But he won't be the show's protagonist like captains before him

Christopher Hooton
Wednesday 08 March 2017 06:31 EST
Comments
Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films
Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Star Trek has found its latest captain, with Jason Isaacs set to head up the Starship Discovery in the new CBS series.

Isaacs, best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, will play Captain Lorca, Variety has reported.

Lorca won’t be the centre of attention as Janeway, Sisko and Picard were before him though, as Discovery is switching from a captain protagonist to a lieutenant commander “with caveats”.

“We’ve seen six series from the captain’s point of view; to see a character from a different perspective on the starship — one who has a different dynamic relationships with a captain, with subordinates, it gave us richer context,” creator Bryan Fuller said last year.

The Walking Dead’s Sonequa Martin-Green will be playing Lieutenant Commander Rainsford, with the cast also including Maulik Pancholy (30 Rock) and Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), who will play a chief medical officer and captain of the Starship Shenzhou respectively.

Star Trek: Discovery was originally set to premiere on CBS All Access in January 2017, but was pushed back to summer or autumn apparently because of the extensive post-production it requires.

“It’s important to get it right, and Star Trek is the family jewels,” CBS CEO Les Moonves said.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in