After the shocking events of last night’s Walking Dead finale, another fictional universe was effected: Sonequa Martin-Green — Sasha on The Walking Dead — now has a new name on Star Trek: Discovery. Instead of simply being known as “Number One,” Martin-Green will play First Officer Michael Burnham. On Monday, the Star Trek: Discovery Twitter account triumphantly announced Sonequa Martin-Green’s official addition to the cast of the show.
Because the early press releases for Discovery have mentioned more than one starship — both the USS Discovery and the USS Shenzhou — it’s become increasingly unclear which Starfleet officers belong aboard each ship. Notably, Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham isn’t listed as being assigned to either ship, fueling the rumor some fans have that the two ships will end up becoming one. Either way, the main character of the show, formerly just “Number One,” now has a full name.
Previously, when Bryan Fuller was still the showrunner of Discovery, it was suggested that the moniker of “Number One,” would effectively be the character’s only name. If ever true, the new announcement seems to indicate that idea seems to have been dropped. She’s Michael Burnham and that’s that.
Because Sonequa Martin-Green is thought to be the lead of the new Trek show, it will be the first time in the history of the franchise in which the lead character hasn’t been a “captain”-type character. Martin-Green is also the second person of color to take on a lead role in a Star Trek series, the first being Avery Brooks in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1993.
Star Trek: Discovery is set to debut sometime late this year on CBS All Access.
