Season 2 of CBS All Access’s Star Trek: Discovery is on the way, and the first trailer for the new season offers plenty of action, plus major roles for Captain Pike and young Spock. Season 1 was a divisive affair, for reasons that included potential changes to the franchises canon and, in particular, the tone of the series itself. Mixed responses are usually the case with any new entry in a property that has a fan base as rabid as Star Trek does. But even though there were missteps and some questionable attempts to go where no Star Trek series had gone before (like dropping an F bomb here and there), the show demonstrated time and again it was capable of delivering an impressive visual spectacle, and the new trailer for the second season appears ready to up the ante in that regard.

A big part of the series’ efforts to engage its audience revolves around the casting of Ethan Peck as Spock and Anson Mount at Captain Christopher Pike. Adding not one but two important characters from Star Trek lore to this canon-shaking prequel series is a big risk, but one that might well payoff, inasmuch as a little name recognition might help make the series more appealing for potential viewers whose appreciation of Star Trek is more closely tied to characters who’ve made an impact elsewhere. And from what the trailer shows, it looks as though Spock and Pike will once again have a chance to have an influence over the future of the franchise.

Though there’s an emphasis on Spock and Pike, the season 2 trailer doesn’t forget that the series is built around Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, nor does it forget that events late in season 1 brought Michelle Yeoh’s Georgiou back into the narrative fold and placed Saru (Doug Jones) in the captain’s chair of the Discovery. Check out the full trailer and a new poster for season 2 below:


For the most part, season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery looks as though it has changed some of its ways, at least in terms of tone. Though the trailer might not be indicative of the season as a whole, it does seem as though the show wants to strike a greater balance between its more dramatic moments and those capable of bringing a little levity to the situation. Moreover, the show seems to know what to do with an actor like Mount, whose charisma and matinee idol looks aren’t wasted with a stone-faced and silent performance, as was the case in Marvel’s ill-fated Inhumans series. As far as Spock goes, well, this bearded depiction of the famous Vulcan is likely going to have as many detractors as supporters, but that’s pretty much par for the course with a franchise like this.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the trailer are the details given about the story line, one that seemingly revolves around an entity known as the Red Angel. What or whom this being is is unclear, but it does suggest that Star Trek: Discovery season 2 is ready to deliver a space-faring serialized adventure (emphasis on "adventure") when it returns in 2019.