Star Trek: Discovery season 2 will introduce a number of classic characters into the mix. Those taking the spotlight are Ethan Peck’s young (bearded!) Spock and Inhumans star Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike. However, let’s not forget that Rebecca Romijn – most well known as the original Mystique in the X-Men movies – is also joining the ensemble cast as Pike’s right-hand woman from the U.S.S. Enterprise, Number One.
Trek fans will know that Number One initially appeared in The Original Series‘ pilot “The Cage,” where she was played by Majell Barrett, who happened to be the wife of creator Gene Roddenberry. While speaking with ET, Romijn admitted that she didn’t know the importance of the character in that way but still leaped at the chance to play someone who would already be iconic to followers of the franchise.
“I didn’t know the full story. I was asked if I’d be interested in a somewhat iconic role in the series and I jumped at the chance. I was a Trekkie as a kid with the original series. After I was filled in with all the details — after I said ‘yes’ — oh man, I was floored. It was amazing.”
Romijn then went on to discuss what it was like to wear the classic uniforms. In contrast to the Discovery crew, the actress got to don a classic 60s style costume, as her character and Pike are on loan from the Enterprise and their looks needed to correspond with that of the original series. Romijn also took the time to praise the production design which she promises harks back to TOS as well.
“When they fit me, they fit me in the original gold uniform from Enterprise because Discovery takes place 10 years before the original series,” she said. “But when they fit me for that uniform, I was teary-eyed. Because Enterprise was shot in the ‘60s, we’ve gone with a little bit of a ‘60s flair, which is great. And being there on set, there’s a ‘60s vibe on set. The production is amazing. Just walking through the stages up there, it’s gorgeous — really, really beautiful sets.”
Finally, Romijn explained that she loved working with her captain and co-star Mount and revealed they often talk about the character of Spock on set, as well as teasing that the cast are as kept in the dark as the fans and have to wait until the scripts come in to see where the season’s going to go.
“I’m working with Anson Mount, who plays an amazing Captain Pike, and we have discussed Mr. Spock. Mr. Spock has been a topic of conversation. You know more than I know! I can’t wait to see where it goes. We all wait for the scripts and we’ll see what happens.”
The recent trailer for the new run and its associated images gave us our first look at Rebecca Romijn in character as Number One and, sure enough, she does look like she’s been beamed out of the 1960s and into 2018. All of the TOS nostalgia on display should hopefully make Star Trek: Discovery a must-watch when it returns to CBS All-Access on January 17th and we can’t wait to see what else is in store for us.