New discovery trailer, stills, poster, and details revealed

It's another big Discovery news day! Today at the San Diego Comic Con a new trailer was released, there was a panel with the cast and executive producers, and then CBS released new stills and a poster too! Continue below for all the details. We'll kick things off with the trailer (as ever there's a CBS version for the US, and Netflix for the rest of the world):





Exciting stuff, which I'll go into in more detail below! Note this time I think the only difference between the two trailers is that the Netflix one gets that awesome opening shot (which is hidden away further into the CBS version)!

Now here are the new pictures:

Many a Klingon

 Captain Philippa Georgiou on the Klingon ship

Michael Burnham with her USS Discovery hair and uniform 

Harry Mudd!

Captain Gabriel Lorca, in a curious lab place

And here's another new poster:

Now lets dive into the details o that trailer! First up that awesome beauty shot of the USS Shenzhou over the dessert world, revealing Burnham and Georgiou had been walking in a delta shape to indicate where they were.

There are several more desert shots.

Including some signs of life.

This alien design is interesting from a behind the scenes point of view; it looks to me like a person in a costume, but with extra arms (and a tail) added on.

Meanwhile in space, we get our first look at the USS Discovery in action!

And meet some of the crew. It looks like Lorca's relationship with Burnham is going to be just as crucial to the story as was her's with Georgiou.

And there's something going on between Burnham and cadet Tilly too.

Note that once aboard the Discovery Burnham has a new hair style - I wonder how long it is between the Klingon incident on the Shenzhou and her joining the Discovery. On that she she finds herself in awe of a room full of plants; perhaps Lieutenant Stamets' fungus?

There's some action in a dark Federation-feeling setting.

Including a quick shuttlecraft getaway. Alas we don't get a good look at the shuttle as it zooms away.

And at some point we meet Harry Mudd.

Back in the past, the trailer reveals a little more about Burnham's Vulcan connection, showing us Sarek discovering her after an attack, and maybe mind melding with her? Today's panel shed some light on the relationship. apparently Sarek and Amanda are Burnham's surrogate parents. The series will use that relationship to explore Sarek too, and what actor James Frain describes sounds fascinating:

We know where [Sarek] ends up. [Star Trek: Discovery] is an exploration of who he was when he was younger ... He's a mentor to Michael and has taken her under his wing. The whole Vulcan ideal is something they evolved over centuries ... The reality is they have emotions, and they have to deal with those emotions. [She] opens up a door in [Sarek] he didn't know was there.

It also looks like T'Kuvma might have some childhood issues of his own.

Of course the Klingons feature heavily again, including this interesting shot of a Klingon ship on some sort of planetary surface. According to the panel held today, the Klingons will be speaking in Klingon, with subtitles.

A couple more shots from the space-suit encounter.

And it seems a missing for Burnham and Georgiou to board the Klingon ship.

Another Starfleet vessel joins the adventure, the USS Europa, which doesn't look like a ship we'll be getting to know well!

And there's lots more space battle in the trailer! I especially love the close-up shot of one of the Klingon ships firing at the Shenzhou.

There are a lot of different Klingon ships involved here, I think at least five different designs (should keep Eaglemoss busy!).

It looks like our friends on the Shenzhou aren't going to come out of this well! But Burnham gets taken off somewhere before it all falls apart?

Which ultimately leaves her trapped in a force-field cube when a chunk of the ship is destroyed!

Not trapped for long though; Kelvin timeline Kirk would be jealous of these antics!

And here's a random eye... no idea whose!

In other news from the panel, Anthony Rapp revealed Lieutenant Stamets will be gay; an almost first for Star Trek, and certainly the most significant manifestation of homosexual representation in the franchise.

He will have a partner on the show, who has been announced as Doctor Hugh Culber, played by Wilson Cruz. Both actors have previously worked together in Rent.

Doug Jones, talked a little about Saru:

As a Kelpien, what you have not seen in any of these trailers is my footwear: My feet are actually hooves. I'm six-eight in the show—I'm the tallest character in the show. I'm balancing on the balls of my feet.

A little more was revealed about Saru in an Entertainment Weekly article a few days ago. His species, the Kelpien, are described as a prey species, sharing their planet with a predator species, which has forced them to evolve heightened survival skills (such as his death-sense). He is also described as the series' equivalent to Spock or Data.

Finally, the series' composer was announced: Jeff Russo, who has previously worked on music on Fargo, Extant, The Night Of, and Legion, among others.

Star Trek: Discovery is due to start this September, and it will be distributed almost everywhere in the world on Netflix, except for the US where is will be available on CBS All Access, and Canada where it will be on Bell Media channels and services. To keep track of all the latest details from the new show, visit my Star Trek: Discovery guide page.