Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery will add an important face from Trek lore, as Anson Mount is set to appear as none other than Captain Pike. The character’s appearance in season 2 was something of a forgone conclusion following a fairly conspicuous name drop in the finale, hinting that the captain would have some role to play in the ongoing adventures of the Discovery and its crew. The news potentially puts the prequel series on a trajectory to cross paths with even more characters from the Trek Universe.
Mount is perhaps best known for his role as Cullen Bohannon on AMC’s surprisingly long-lived Western, Hell On Wheels and, more recently, for his entirely silent performance in ABC’s (probably) short-lived Marvel comics misfire, Inhumans. In Discovery, Mount will take on a role that’s been played before, both on the original Star Trek series and by Bruce Greenwood in the film series rebooted by J.J. Abrams.
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News of Mount’s casting was reported by Deadline, and could be taken as a sign that the series aims to distance itself from the war with the Klingons to delve more into the “Trekiness” of it all, and to better define the Discovery’s place in the prime timeline. Whether or not that means the Enterprise will play a significant part in the season remains to be seen, but at least Mount will have a chance to deliver actual lines of dialogue in his new role.
Confirmation that Pike will be in the series creates plenty of speculation as to what is in store for the second season, beyond his captaincy of the famous space-faring vessel. What interactions Pike will have with the crew of the Discovery, especially Michael Burnham, considering her relationship to one of Pike’s future crew members, will be an interesting avenue for the series to explore, though it runs the risk of forcing Discovery to rely more on callbacks to the main series than it does the promise of new and exciting stories told exclusively for the purpose of this show.
Additionally, and not surprisingly, the news all but confirms the end has indeed come for Inhumans. After dismal reviews and poor ratings, the series was a long shot for a second season anyway, and Mount boarding another show may as well serve as an unofficial cancelation of ABC’s IMAX-sized error. Perhaps a more concrete announcement from the Disney-owned network will be forthcoming now that the cast of Inhumans is clearly moving on.
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Star Trek: Discovery season 2 does not yet have a premiere date.
Source: Deadline