Comic-Con: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Goes All in With Gay Storyline -- and There's a 'Rent' Connection!

By
CBS


Star Trek: Discovery
is making history on the small screen.

CBS All Access' anticipated scripted series broke some casting news during Saturday's panel at Comic-Con -- and there's an unbelievable Rent connection.


Anthony Rapp
, who plays Lt. Stamets, an astromycologist, fungus expert and Starfleet Science Officer aboard the Starship Discovery, revealed that fellow Rent alum Wilson Cruz will be joining the series as his character's love interest.

"I can announce that Wilson Cruz will play my love interest and my partner in Star Trek: Discovery," announced Rapp, who plays the first openly gay character in a Star Trek TV series. "I'm very proud of that and that he's a scientist."

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Shortly thereafter, Cruz -- whose character is Dr. Hugh Culber, medical officer of the Starship Discovery -- confirmed the news on Twitter, tweeting, "Well, apparently, the cat is finally out of the bag... I'm so THRILLED to be apart of the epic American mythology that is #StarTrek!"

Additionally, it was revealed that Jefferson Russo (Fargo, The Night Of, Legion) would be composing the music for Star Trek: Discovery.


Star Trek: Discovery
takes place 10 years before Captain James T. Kirk takes the captain's chair and Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays female lead, USS Discovery First Officer Michael Burnham, assured Trekkies that the show fits well within the established universe.

"We are all huge fans of the original series and obviously we want to be accurate," Martin-Green said. "We are within canon. It's a little bit larger than the original series in terms of scope and scale, but we are very consistent with our origins."

“Star Trek has always been [a picture] of diversity and universality and unity. If you say you love the legacy of Star Trek, but you don’t love that, then you’ve missed it,” she added. “I encourage you to come on the journey with us.”

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Martin-Green also opened up the significance of Star Trek: Discovery and the hopeful message she hopes it sends in the current climate.

“It’s always been so important to me that we value the story and the show and each other and realize we are all doing this together," Martin-Green said. "It expands beyond us to you-you are a part of this-we are all in this together. That's been the most beautiful thing to see.”

"Our opportunity is to take our view of conflict today and still search for some resolution that is not dystopian, but utopian," Rapp said. "I promise you that we passionately believe in what we are doing. We want to do something meaningful and honor what came before."

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Earlier in the day, Martin-Green and her co-stars stopped by ET’s Comic-Con suite at the Hard Rock Hotel, where she credited Kate Mulgrew for paving the way for her character.

“Captain Janeway -- the brilliant Kate Mulgrew, she set the tone with that. For me it’s being a woman, but then also being a black woman and also being the first officer,” Martin-Green told ET’s Kevin Frazier. “This is the first time it’s being told from those three perspectives.”

Watch the exciting new trailer unveiled at Comic-Con below.


Star Trek: Discovery
premieres on CBS and CBS All Access on Sunday, Sept. 24, before new episodes launch weekly on CBS All Access.

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