Star Trek: Discovery, with its 10-year-before-Classic-Trek timeline, has mostly eschewed the usual canon up to this point. But with lead character Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) related by adoption to Mr. Spock, and the introduction of the USS Enterprise at the end of Season 2, it was inevitable he'd show up on the series. And now the Discovery team has announced their pick: Ethan Peck.
If the last name sounds familiar, he is in fact the grandson of acting legend Gregory Peck, and here takes on a role that has only been played by two people as an adult in the past – Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto. "Through 52 years of television and film, a parallel universe and a mirror universe, Mr. Spock remains the only member of the original bridge crew to span every era of Star Trek. The great Leonard Nimoy, then the brilliant Zachary Quinto, brought incomparable humanity to a character forever torn between logic and emotion," says Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman. "We searched for months for an actor who would, like them, bring his own interpretation to the role. An actor who would, like them, effortlessly embody Spock’s greatest qualities, beyond obvious logic: empathy, intuition, compassion, confusion and yearning. Ethan Peck walked into the room inhabiting all of these qualities, aware of his daunting responsibility to Leonard, Zack and the fans, and ready to confront the challenge in the service of protecting and expanding on Spock’s legacy. In that spirit, we’re thrilled to welcome him to the family."
Season 2 will see Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), the current commanding officer of the Enterprise, interact with the Discovery crew. Spock's presence had been teased, but now we'll actually get to meet him. The series will be back on screens (via CBS All Access in the States and Netflix in the UK) next year.
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