'Star Trek: Discovery' Might Visit the Mirror Universe

CBS is keeping Star Trek: Discovery under a curious amount of spoiler scrutiny, and we may know why. Franchise veteran Jonathan Frakes let slip a major return for the new series that may have you trimming a goatee in anticipation.

You’re warned of possible spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery from here on out, but it seems erstwhile Commander Riker Jonathan Frakes may not have gotten the secrecy memo, based on his recent appearance at Chicago’s Continuing Voyage Tour convention. According to those in attendance, Discovery director Frakes stated that at least one episode (not necessarily his) would deal with the infamous “mirror universe” recurring throughout the franchise.

The mirror universe is among Trek’s more tongue-in-cheek sci-fi constraints; appearing in the original series, Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise. It’s a fan-favorite, sure, but given that Discovery was said to eschew one-off sci-fi in favor of a more serialized Star Trek story, might that mean the mirror universe could actually play a significant, ongoing role?

Premiering this coming Sunday, Discovery features Walking Dead alum Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham, along with Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd, Jason Isaacs as Captain Lorca, Michelle Yeoh as Captain Georgiou, James Frain as Spock’s father Sarek, Doug Jones as an alien science officer, Adam Rapp as the TV franchise’s first openly-gay character and multiple Klingon roles. And while the series may have lost showrunner Bryan Fuller, Trek favorites Nicholas Meyer, Rod Roddenberry, Kirsten Beyer and Joe Menosky are all on board.