Star Trek: Discovery is about to leave space dock for its sophomore mission, as star Doug Jones confirms season two of the CBS All Access series begins filming tomorrow (April 16, as of this writing).

After spending over a decade off the airwaves, Discovery finally returned Star Trek to its original home on television in 2017, though not without controversy. Rather than airing on a traditional network or popular streaming service, it was decided the series would be exclusive to the brand new All Access subscription service, which offered little in original content beyond Discovery and The Good Fight, a spinoff of The Good Wife. The show also raised some Vulcan-esque eyebrows by making Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), the show's unconventional lead character, into a never before mentioned adoptive sister of Spock. After a surprisingly dark and violent first season that showcased a brutal was with the Klingons, the season ended with the promise of an encounter with the USS Enterprise, helmed by Captain Christopher Pike (the recently cast Inhumans refugee Anson Mount).

There's been much speculation about what the new season could hold, and it seems like we'll likely be getting answers soon as production gets underway. Series star Doug Jones - fresh off his fantastic performance in Guillermo del Toro's Oscar winner The Shape Of Water - let fans know he was about to suit back up as Discovery's cautious first officer Commander Saru by shaving his head. Check it out via his Twitter account below.

With the Klingon war seemingly in the rearview mirror, Discovery's producers have promised a second season that will more strongly evoke the ethos of classic Star Trek, and will settle some long brewing questions about how exactly the events of the series fit into the larger Star Trek narrative. The show also figures to delve into a much anticipated corner of Star Trek lore, as a deleted scene from the first season finale revealed Mirror Georgiou has been inducted into the shadowy Federation cabal known as Section 31, which has its origins in the fan favorite Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and figured prominently in Star Trek Into Darkness.

Despite some narrative shakiness in its debut season - undoubtedly influenced by the show's well documented behind the scenes chaos that saw series creator Bryan Fuller quit before production began - the show has an unquestionably strong ensemble cast, anchored by Martin-Green and Jones, as well as Anthony Rapp as the prickly Lieutenant Stamets and Mary Wiseman as the awkward but goodhearted Ensign Tilly. Almost every iteration of Star Trek took a quantum leap forward in quality in its second season. Hopefully that's a trend Discovery can emulate.

MORE: Why Star Trek Discovery's Enterprise Was Redesigned

Source: Doug Jones