According to a recent announcement in The Hollywood Reporter, CBS All Access has cast Ethan Peck as Mr. Spock in Star Trek: Discovery for its subscription video on demand series’ second season.
“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,” showrunner Alex Kurtzman said. “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.”
Discovery hinted through much of the first season that they might formally introduce Spock, the famous first officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise, by virtue of the fact that Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) was established as Spock’s human adoptive sister. The deal was sealed in the final moments of the last episode of that first season when the Discovery encounters the Enterprise itself. Matching canon, Spock is the chief science officer under Captain Christopher Pike, who mentions Spock’s odd departure in a voice over in the Season 2 trailer, first seen at 2018’s San Diego Comic-Con.
Burnham believes that her half-human step-brother is somehow connected to a series of cosmic anamolies; the series could well spend much of the second season of Discovery once again in a search for Spock.
Ethan Gregory Peck is the grandson of Hollywood icon Gregory Peck. His resemblence to both Zachary Quinto and a young Leonard Nimoy is noteworthy, so the casting director was obviously very much paying attention on this one. Peck’s acting credits include playing Heath Ledger’s part in ABC Family’s TV take on 10 Things I Hate About You and CW Seed’s I Ship It. He also starred in an ABC drama pilot For Love.
When People Magazine asked Peck about his famous grandfather, he replied, “He was just Grandpa to me. He taught me how to float in a swimming pool. He passed when I was 17, and I don’t recall ever having a conversation with him about acting. I have so many questions for him now.”
There’s no firm release date yet, but Star Trek: Discovery returns to CBS All Access in early 2019. It will also be carried by Netflix, and will be viewable everywhere outside the U.S on that service without extra subscription.
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