IfStar Trek: Discovery’soriginal showrunner Bryan Fuller had had his way, the show would have reunited several actors from Fuller’sHannibalseries. Bryan Fuller developedHannibalfor NBC, based on Thomas Harris' novels featuring the titular serial killer and cannibal. The show ran for 3 seasons from 2013 to 2015, and has since developed a cult following and remains widely regarded as one of the best horror television shows of all time. Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal Lecter was the center of the show, butHannibalboasted a strong cast all around.
One of Bryan Fuller’s first television writing jobs was onStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,and he went on to serve as an executive producer onStar Trek: Voyager.In 2016, Fuller was announced as the showrunner for a newStar Trekseriesthat would later becomeStar Trek: Discovery.However, Fuller was let go early in production, partly to focus on his other series,American Gods.Fuller recently sat down withStar Trek: EnterprisestarsDominic Keating and Connor Trinneer on their podcast,The D-Con Chamber,to discuss hisscrappedStar Trek: Discoveryplans.
Star Trek: Discovery’s Original Showrunner Wanted To Cast Hannibal’s Actors
The potentialcast ofStar Trek: Discoveryis one of the most significant pieces of information Bryan Fuller has revealed about his plans for the show. Not only did Fuller cast Michelle Yeoh as Phillipa Georgiou and push for Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, but he also had plans to cast several of hisHannibalactors inStar Trek: Discovery,Gillian Anderson was reportedly in talks to play an unknown Starfleet captain.Best known for portraying Agent Dana Scully onThe X-Files,Anderson appeared inHannibalas Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, Hannibal’s psychotherapist.
Prior to portraying Lt. Rachel Garrett inStar Trek: Section 31,Kacey Rohl had appeared in several episodes of Hannibal as Abigail Hobbs, the daughter of a serial killer.
Bryan Fuller had Richard Armitage in mind to portraySpock’s father, Ambassador Sarek, a role that eventually went to James Frain.InHannibalseason 3, Armitage played Francis Dolarhyde,a serial killer known as The Tooth Fairy. Lawrence Fishburne starred as Jack Crawford, the head of the FBI Behavioral Sciences division inHannibal,and Fuller was considering him for an unknown Klingon role inStar Trek: Discovery. Finally, Fuller also wanted Hugh Dancy, who starred asHannibal’sWill Graham, to joinDiscovery’scast in an unknown role.
Why Bryan Fuller’s Original Star Trek: Discovery Vision Would Have Been Amazing
Even ten years after the show ended, many fans are still hoping for afourth season ofHannibal,but it would have been fun to see at least some of the actors reunite inStar Trek. Based on Bryan Fuller’s casting choices alone, his vision forStar Trek: Discoverysounds like it would have been amazing. Fuller not only grew up watchingStar Trek: The Original Seriesbut also worked on two differentTrekshows. By all accounts,Fuller appears to know his stuff when it comes toStar Trek,and he might have made a version ofDiscoverythat appealed more to classicTrekfans.
10 Ways Discovery Made Star Trek Better
Although Star Trek: Discovery made some divisive decisions during its 5-season run, the show made many positive contributions to the franchise.
In hisD-Con Chamberinterview, Bryan Fuller mentions that he"rejected"Star Trek: Discovery’sKlingon designs, but the show used them anyway after Fuller’s departure.Discovery’snew look for the Klingons was resoundingly rejected byTrekfans, andStar Trek: Strange New Worldslater went back to theTNG-era Klingon design.Fuller also had a hand in casting Anthony Rapp (although he was originally an Andorian doctor) and Wilson Cruz, both of whom consistently delivered strong performances onDiscovery. It’s impossible to say whatDiscoverywould’ve looked like if Fuller hadn’t left, and it’s a shame we’ll never know for sure.
Could Bryan Fuller Still Get A Chance To Make His Star Trek Story?
It Seems Unlikely, But Anything Is Possible With Star Trek
All of this suggests that Bryan Fuller’s original concept forStar Trek: Discoverywas quite different from the final product. This raises the question of whether audiences will ever get to see the story Fuller originally set out to make. While it may seem doubtful,Fuller has regularly expressed his love and enthusiasm for the franchise,and he clearly has ideas about theStar Trekstories he wants to tell. Creative differences between Fuller and CBS also contributed to his departure, as Fuller wanted more creative freedom.
7 Years Later, Star Trek: Discovery’s Premiere Is Still Incredible & Controversial
Star Trek: Discovery premiered 7 years ago, and it was a new vision for Star Trek that is still equal parts revolutionary and troubling.
Bryan Fuller originally envisioned hisStar Trekshow as an anthology series that would tackle a different era ofTrekeach season (in the vein ofAmerican Horror Story). This sounds like such a cool idea, and there’s definitely room in theStar Trekfranchise for an anthology series like this. With theconclusion ofStar Trek: DiscoveryandStar Trek: Lower Decks,it’s possible Paramount+ could be looking for newTrekprojects soon.However, the franchise’s first made-for-streaming film,Star Trek: Section 31,has received mostly negative reviews, and it remains to be seen howStar Trek: Starfleet Academywill perform.
It might be time for Paramount to give someone like Bryan Fuller free reign to tell theirStar Trekstory.
Paramount does not have a great track record when it comes to making the content thatStar Trekfans want, so it might be time for them to give someone like Bryan Fuller free reign to tell theirStar Trekstory. Fuller’sHannibalnot only had an amazing cast of characters but was also incredibly compelling and visually stunning. All of this suggests that Bryan Fuller’sStar Trek: Discoverycould have been great, and here’s hoping we get to see some version of it in the future.
