Star Trek: Discovery’s Sonequa Martin-Green Reveals Her Hopes for Michael Burnham’s Legacy

Star Trek: Discovery is returning for its fifth and final season, and series star Sonequa Martin-Green definitely has ideas on what she hopes the legacy will be for her Star Trek captain, Michael Burnham. 

ComicBook.com had a chance to attend the press junket for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, what about Michael Burnham she hopes sticks with Star Trek fans after Discovery: 

“Oh my goodness… Oh my goodness. Well, it’s so hard for me to say, right? I feel like that comes over time. I think when people look back on it, is when that really becomes clear. But I hope that, first of all, just being this black female captain, I hope that’s part of it.” 

Michael Burnham making history as Star Trek‘s first female captain of color was certainly a milestone, but those optics aren’t the only thing that Martin-Green wants her character to be remembered for. More than anything, she wants Burnham to be remembered as the captain who drew out the best in her crew, while always standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them:

“I hope [Burnham’s legacy] it’s all about the inside-out leadership,” Martin-Green explained. “Of course, we’ve seen matriarchal leadership in the franchise before, of course, with the brilliant Kate Mulgrew [who played Captian Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager]; I hope the legacy is the inside-out leadership, and bringing the best out of everyone, while being in the trenches with everyone.”

Finally, Sonquea Martin-Green hopes that with time and perspective, Star Trek fans will see Burnham as a collective composite of the Star Trek captain that appeared onscreen before her: 

“I also hope – and maybe I shouldn’t say this but I’m about to anyway – I hope that there’s a little bit of all the captains; I hope that you can see a little bit of all of them in Burnham. Burnham is very much herself, and one-of-a-kind, but I hope that you can see that there is a little bit of all of them in there, too… I don’t know, I really can’t say! As me again in three years!… Give me a little time to think about it.”

Of course, all this talk about Michael Burnham’s legacy comes before we even have a chance to see how her arc in Star Trek: Discovery ends. So, as Martin-Green said, we’ll need some time before the answer fully comes into focus. 

What Is Star Trek: Season 5 About? 

“The fifth and final season will find Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well… dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it.”

The season five cast members include Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season five also features recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll). 

Star Trek: Discovery is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, April 4th on Paramount+. The first two episodes of the show’s final 10-episode season will be released at the same time followed by weekly episode drops on Thursdays.