While most of Star Trek: Discovery will focus on original characters, we know that a few names we know from previous films and series will make appearances. As such, that means that there's an opportunity for at least one major name to appear as well. Sonequa Martin-Green's character of First Officer Michael Burnham will be an orphan who is taken in as a child by Sarek, the father of everybody's favorite Vulcan, Spock. So does that mean we could see Spock at some point in the series? Since both characters grew up in the same house, we could see a young Spock if the series was going to include flashbacks, which Martin-Green has now confirmed that it will.
There are flashbacks, yes. Yes, yes.
Flashbacks that include a young Spock would be an easy way to make reference to the character without necessarily making him a major part of the new series. Certainly Star Trek: Discovery wants all its new characters to stand on their own, and bringing in a character with the history of Spock could steal a lot of that thunder.
Of course, even without putting Spock himself on screen, Star Trek: Discovery is doing something quite interesting, and potentially jarring to classic Star Trek fans, by inserting an adoptive sister that has never been referenced in 50 years of Star Trek history. Sonequa Martin-Green tells IGN that not only will the fact that we've never heard of Michael Burnham be dealt with, she promises it'll be dealt with in a way that makes sense.
I can be brutally honest and say I think it is quite genius the way that they have weaved me into that story. And it is something that seems very normal when you see it. It makes so much sense. It's not what you'd expect, but it does make sense. But then I'll also quote our executive producer Alex Kurtzman, because he touched on it at San Diego Comic-Con. They said, how is this gonna happen? We've never heard of this woman before. And he said, I'll just say to you that we're working on it. Be patient with us, we get it, we're working on it.
With five decades of history and committed fans, there's a lot riding on the success of this show and these characters. Many traditional fans haven't loved the way that J.J. Abrams changed up the status quo on the big screen, and those movies at least have the luxury of claiming it's all happening in an alternate timeline. Star Trek: Discovery is supposed to be part of the main continuity, meaning that all this happens prior to the original Star Trek series that so many people love. If the creation of a new adoptive sister works as well as Sonequa Martin-Green claims, everything will be fine. If it doesn't work that well, it could turn off many passionate fans, which the series will likely need in order to survive.
