Michelle Yeoh is being sworn in to Starfleet.
Deadline reports that the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actor has been cast in CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery as Han Bo, the captain of a ship called the Shenzhou that will play a major part in the show’s first season.
Yeoh is mainly known for her extensive film career, though she has recently been making a splash in television with turns in Netflix’s Marco Polo and Cinemax’s Strike Back. Coincidentally, Netflix will be the home of the Yeoh-starring Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel and is also distributing Star Trek: Discovery in 188 countries outside of the U.S. and Canada.
This casting news is the first big update on Star Trek: Discovery since Bryan Fuller stepped down as showrunner and the series was delayed from January to May 2017. The series will focus on “Number One”, a young woman who is a lieutenant commander of the Discovery. Star Trek: Discovery, which will take place about 10 years before the original series, signals a return to TV for Star Trek since the end of Star Trek Enterprise in 2005.
Star Trek: Discovery was created by Fuller and Alex Kurtzman. Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts have taken over showrunning duties for Fuller since his departure.