'Star Trek: Discovery' to Release Series of Short Films Ahead of Season 2

Today at San Diego Comic-Con, Star Trek: Discovery fans learned that they will have to wait until January 2019 for the series' second season. However, before that, CBS will release a series of "Short Treks," four short films running 10-15 minutes each that reveal some of the backstories of some of the show's characters.

The Short Treks will be released in December and will feature Saru (Doug Jones), Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson), and an unnamed new character.

In addition, the panel revealed the first trailer for the new season featuring Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike and announced that Rebecca Romijn will play Pike's first officer, known simply as Number One.

You can read our full panel recap here.

Star Trek: Discovery Season Two picks up where the first season left off, with the Discovery coming nose-to-nose with the USS Enterprise, the famous ship captained by James T. Kirk on his five-year mission in Star Trek: The Original Series.

Only Star Trek: Discovery takes place a decade prior to the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, meaning the Enterprise is still under the command of Captain Christopher Pike. Pike was originally played by Jeffrey Hunter in the first pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage." Marvel's Inhumans star Anson Mount will take over the role in Star Trek: Discovery.

Pike isn't the only notable Star Trek character serving aboard the Enterprise during this time period in the history of the Star Trek universe. Mr. Spock, who was played memorably by the late Leonard Nimoy, served as Pike's Science Officer. Spock's father, Sarek (James Frain), was aboard the Discovery when it received Captain Pike's distress call, as was Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), the human who was adopted by Spock's parents when she was still a child. The new trailer for Star Trek: Discovery's second season suggests that Spock has involved himself in a mystery spanning space and time.

Are you excited for the return of Star Trek: Discovery? How do you feel about the new Short Treks series of short films being released in December? Let us know what you think in the comments!

The first season of Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream in its entirety on CBS All Access in the United States, through CraveTV in Canada, and through Netflix in other international markets. Star Trek: Discovery Season Two is now filming in Toronto and will premiere in January 2019.