Bryan Fuller Is No Longer Involved With Star Trek: Discovery

In October, fans of Star Trek were saddened to hear that showrunner Bryan Fuller had stepped down from his position with Star Trek: Discovery. His involvement with the series was a major draw for Trekkies unsure of CBS’ long-term intentions with Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi series. And, now, their worst fears have been confirmed: Fuller is no longer involved with the series at all.

In an interview with Newsweek, Fuller dished details about his departure but confirmed he had stepped away from Discovery entirely. “It is bittersweet, but it was just a situation that couldn’t be resolved otherwise… so I had to step away,” he said.

“I’m not involved in production, or postproduction, so I can only give them the material I’ve given them and hope that it is helpful for them. I’m curious to see what they do with it,” he continued. “Ultimately, with my responsibilities [elsewhere], I could not do what CBS needed to have done in the time they needed it done for Star Trek. It felt like it was best for me to focus on landing the plane with American Gods and making sure that was delivered in as elegant and sophisticated a fashion as I could possibly do.”

However, Fuller stressed he still felt friendly towards the show and wished it all the best. He said, “Creating [Discovery] and getting to the heart of what the important themes were to me as a Star Trek fan—how do we get along with people who are different than ourselves?” he asked in the interview. “How do we find common ground? How do move into the future together? Those themes were implicit in the scripts that I wrote before I left, and the storylines [I plotted].”

The showrunner also said he wouldn’t rule out a return to Discovery one day. Fuller said new showrunners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts have his number if they ever want to call him.

Of course, this news is not what Trekkies were wanting to hear from Fuller. The man is currently busy work on STARZ’s American Gods adaptation alongside creator Neil Gaiman, but sci-fans are still upset. In recent months, Discovery has undergone a litany of release setbacks and streaming concerns, but CBS did managed to assuaged fans when they announced several new cast members.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to premiere on CBS All Access in May 2017.

[H/T] Collider