‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Lead Martin-Green Gets A Brand New Name

On Monday, CBS officially welcomed actress Sonequa Martin-Green on board the new Star Trek: Discovery series, and revealed her character’s name: First Officer Michael Burnham. It was announced last year that Green, who played Sasha from The Walking Dead, would be joining the upcoming sci-fi TV series.

The name reveal caused quite a commotion. The choice of “Michael” raises questions like: is the typically masculine name more common as a woman’s name in the future? Is the character possibly transgender? Star Trek fans are discussing the name on social media and Reddit, but it’s all mere speculation until more is revealed about the character.

Other recent casting announcements include Harry Potter‘s Jason Isaacs as Discovery Captain Lorca, and Rainn Wilson from The Office as Harry Mudd, a con artist introduced in the original Star Trek series.

Star Trek: Discovery was created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman for CBS All Access, is the first Star Trek series since Star Trek: Enterprise wrapped up in 2005. It takes place a decade before the events in the original Star Trek series, and follows the crew of the USS Discovery. Production of the series emphasized carrying on the legacy of the previous series, and made efforts to feature a diverse cast.

Star Trek: Discovery is currently in production, and will consist of 13 episodes. It is expected to launch on CBS All Access sometime later this year.