Star Trek: Discovery brought the world of Trek back to television when it premiered back in 2017, but the journey for Michael Burnham and Co. is set to end in the 2024 TV schedule. While fans still have to wait until April for the first episode of the fifth and final season, Paramount+ has released tastes of what's to come with early clips. Most recently, the official trailer went public for an emotional preview, and I flashed back to what star Sonequa Martin-Green said surprised her about what was included in the promo footage.
I spoke with Sonequa Martin-Green at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta after the Star Trek: Discovery presentation, where she also received the Spotlight Award. As part of the presentation, the attendees got to see a cut of the final season trailer. I asked the actress if she was surprised about anything that made it into that trailer, and she shared:
You know, I wasn't at first, but everybody's asking about Book, and I'm like, 'You know, it does reveal him in the trailer.' So I guess maybe now I'm surprised that that was in there [laughs], especially with how Season 4 leaves off.
While it hasn't necessarily been a secret that David Ajala will be back as Cleveland Booker in the final season, the strong reaction to his appearance in preview footage gave the leading lady a surprise. The Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 ending definitely didn't finish his story, but there was also no guarantee that it would be continued before the final credits rolled. I went on to ask Sonequa Martin-Green if she'd seen the cut of the trailer before it played at TVfest in front of SCAD students, and she shared:
I had! I'm so happy they got to see the trailer. I didn't know that they were gonna see the trailer, so it was really dope.
Paramount+ has since released some details about what to expect from the final season, including the premiere date of April 4 for the first two episodes. The rest of the final season episodes will air weekly on Thursdays. The leading lady also told CinemaBlend that she doesn't plan to watch the ending "full-on until it actually premieres" so that she can "save the full episode from beginning to end for when the audience is taking it in." Co-star Doug Jones, on the other hand, opened up about feeling closure from watching the series finale's epilogue.
While it's unknown at the time of writing if any of the trailer or clip footage released so far included content from the series finale, you can check out the official Season 5 preview below:
Paramount+ subscribers who have been along for the Star Trek: Discovery ride clearly still have a lot to look forward to, even if the end is sadly in sight. The cancellation came as a surprise back in early 2023, with the silver lining that reshoots were in the works to turn the Season 5 finale into a proper series finale.
According to Sonequa Martin-Green, there were "a few close calls" that not everybody would be able to make it back for the reshoots, but the finished product is going to feel like a real ending thanks to the writers making the most of their limited time.
For now, as the wait continues until the Season 5 premiere on April 4, you can always revisit the first four seasons of Star Trek: Discovery streaming on Paramount+, as well as the other Trek originals during the wait for the upcoming Star Trek TV shows still on the way.
