Bryan Fuller spills Disco info.

[Char Kais]

So I came across a quick snippet of Fuller on the D-Con podcast talking about his time aboard Discovery.
I have not listened to the whole episode, so I cannot say how much of this (if any) is expanded upon.

Some fascinating stuff stated! At the time that he left the show, he says he had done the following:

1. Cast Michelle Yeoh.
2. Was fighting to cast Sonequa. (They didn't want to wait for her, he says he advised they push production until she was ready.)
3. Cast Anthony Rapp, but he was supposed to play an Andorian doctor.
4. Cast Wilson Cruz, but he was going to play Paul Stamets.
5. Was talking to Richard Armitage about playing Sarek.
6. Had Gillian Anderson set to play a Starfleet captain.
7. Had Hugh Dancy in "a great role".
8. He had Klingon concept designs such as Laurence Fishburne as a Klingon. (He does not say whether or not Fishburne was actually cast or even approached.)
9. He had approved the Starfleet uniform design, which they then dumped in favor of what we got.
10. ...And he had rejected the Klingon design which they kept in the show!

We been blaming Fuller for the Klingons all this damn time.

It looks like Bryan Fuller's NDA expired.

I'm saying it for some time now that Fuller is the wrong guy to blame for many of Discovery's decisions.

Spoilers - General Disco Chat Thread

Can I skip the Mirror universe episodes without missing any of the story? Nope, they are integral to the story.

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Spoilers - Star Trek: Discovery 5x10 - "Life, Itself"

the walkway with the planets made me think of a level-select menu, and the whole thing made me think of a create-your-character function in a game. If there is any truth to Simulation Theory, extrapolated to Star Trek, it almost makes sense lol. (Especially with so many higher-entity species...

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News - Starfleet Academy Coming to P+

The last thing I saw from Ron Moore was he'd love to return to Trek, but he has an exclusive contract with Sony which precludes it for some time. That's crazy he had a deal with Disney between 2021 and 2024 that led to... nada?

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I've seen prototypes of his uniforms, and some made it to screen in the last episode of season one and they were... meh.

Those aren't the uniforms Bryan Fuller wanted either.
Bryan Fuller wanted uniforms that looked more like the TOS uniforms.

 

[Firebird]

Wow, I thought it took me awhile to warm up to the original Disco uniforms, but those gray uniforms are much worse! Thank god for what we got!

That original Saru design is truly a thing of nightmares. It's interesting to contemplate how differently I would have felt about a character that looked like that. I could see it being potentially interesting - the softness of the Doug Jones performance and the monstrousness of the face might have made an interesting juxtaposition.

Or maybe it would have been like putting sriracha on pistachio ice cream, two flavors that just could never meld.

I’ve always thought the OG Saru design had a very Guillermo del Toro feel, which is rather appropriate, given Doug Jones was cast in the role.

 

[Cap'n Calhoun]

Unpopular Opinion, but I prefer what we got. As far as the bridge and the uniforms. The TOS elements just don't mesh well with this design. I thought they were better off getting rid of them.

I think they work well as a successor to the uniforms in Enterprise. I think if the show took place in the 2240s or earlier I wouldn't have even questioned them.

 

[Dukhat]

I think they work well as a successor to the uniforms in Enterprise. I think if the show took place in the 2240s or earlier I wouldn't have even questioned them.

I think the show would have worked better post-TUC/pre-TNG. Certainly not pre-TOS.

 

[Cap'n Calhoun]

I think the show would have worked better post-TUC/pre-TNG. Certainly not pre-TOS.

I just meant the uniforms, but story-wise I think the Lost Era could've been ripe territory.

Heck, they could've kept the "Spock's sister" and had Sarek and Perrin adopt her.

 

[Dukhat]

I just meant the uniforms, but story-wise I think the Lost Era could've been ripe territory.

Heck, they could've kept the "Spock's sister" and had Sarek and Perrin adopt her.

Or ditch the whole stupid ‘Spock’s sister’ thing entirely, and just have Burnham be Spock’s protege, just like Saavik and Valeris before her.

 

[Lord Garth]

I just meant the uniforms, but story-wise I think the Lost Era could've been ripe territory.

Heck, they could've kept the "Spock's sister" and had Sarek and Perrin adopt her.

All this time and I never thought of that!

The only thing any of this changes would be the sibling-rivalry between Spock and Burnham in S2. Since their ages would be so different. And I think it still would've been in poor taste for them to recast an older Spock in 2019 (i.e. a Spock that Leonard Nimoy could've played if he hadn't died and was still healthy). It would've been too soon, IMO. But that's an easy thing to leave out.

 

[JLA]

The sibling rivalry was the finest part of the Spock Burnham relationship.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Heck, they could've kept the "Spock's sister" and had Sarek and Perrin adopt her.

I always felt that she should have been Amanda's daughter from a previous relationship.

The sibling rivalry was the finest part of the Spock Burnham relationship.

This.

 

[Cap'n Calhoun]

The sibling rivalry was the finest part of the Spock Burnham relationship.

One of my favorite Burnham moments is her making fun of Spock's beard.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

So instead of the TOS style Colorful Uniforms, we got Navy Blue Uniforms that seem like an Homage to ST:Enterprise in terms of "Color Pallete", minus the Jump Suit design.

Although, my main issue/beef with the DISCO Blue uniforms was the Assymetry in the zippers.

Like seriously, who thought Assymetry was a good idea?

But other than that, I can understand transitioning from the Blue's that Enterprise Time-Frame to the TOS Colorful Uniforms.

But the Assymetry in the Zippers!!!

As you can tell, I'm not a fan of Assymetric Clothing.

 

[StarMan]

1. Had Gillian Anderson set to play a Starfleet captain.

Goddamn.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hannibal before it was axed. I Loved American Gods season 1 before he jumped ship to Discovery and er, slipped off the port-side. To my mind Discovery took too long to figure out what it wanted to be - a luxury afforded to few shows in the streaming era. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of where it settled.

With respect to fans of the show, I'd happily erase all five seasons just to see one season of Fuller's.

 

[Cap'n Calhoun]

I Loved American Gods season 1 before he jumped ship to Discovery and er, slipped off the port-side

Wasn't it the opposite? He was initially running Discovery, then both shows, and then left/got fired from Discovery and was only working on American Gods?

 

[Christopher]

Wasn't it the opposite? He was initially running Discovery, then both shows, and then left/got fired from Discovery and was only working on American Gods?

Yes. I gather that the reason he was let go from DSC is because working on AG at the same time was slowing him down too much. He was splitting his attention during the development phase when the show needed his full attention.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Curious if those are actual designs or just placeholders to use with the Bridge design?
The folks working on the uniforms wouldn't be the same as those doing the sets. So one could be done before the other was ready.

 

[drt]

Those "TOS uniforms" in the concept art just look like the artist designing the bridge stuck them in there as generic placeholders. I think Fuller wanted the dull grey-blue ones as seen on nightmare-Saru, which apparently CBS understandably wanted jazzed up. (edit: ninja'd by @Nerys Myk, lol)

With regard to the Klingons, there's concept art of the Sarcophagus dated months before he left, which is identical to what we saw in the show. Considering that ship pretty much has the same design language as the actual Klingons themselves, combined with only a couple months between his departure and the start of filming leads me to believe they weren't changed all that much.

 

[Phoenix219]

I am one of those that would have preferred whatever the original concept was, and think we got shortchanged in the end. #Team Fuller.

 

[MikeReed013]

The Anthony Rapp as Culber, Wilson Cruz as Stamets switch would have been interesting. I think they did well in their actual castings as well but I could totally picture Cruz sarcastically sniping with crew mates as Stamets and Rapp playing the equally sarcastic, less sniping, haunted by his rebirth Culber.

 

[somebuddyX]

I remember him saying about TOS-inspired uniforms. In fact, I feel like this concept art was closer to his vision.

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I can't remember specifics though. It's been ages.

I love that the original intention was for the captain of the ship to be Odo.

 

[Daedalus]

Curious if those are actual designs or just placeholders to use with the Bridge design?
The folks working on the uniforms wouldn't be the same as those doing the sets. So one could be done before the other was ready.

It took a while, but the TOS-inspired uniforms weren't just a result of an imaginative concept artist, but a preference of the head honcho. It came from an interview in Entertainment Weekly, about Fuller's original plans.

The article also noted some other elements of Fuller’s vision for Discovery that have been set aside, including: “a more heavily allegorical and complex story line,” and his original idea for Starfleet uniforms, which were “a subdued spin on the original series’ trio of primary colors.”

I took this from a Trek Movie article from 2017.

Bryan Fuller’s Original Pitch For ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Included Going Beyond TNG Era

Details on Fuller's original ideas for Discovery, who he wanted to direct the pilot, and more.

trekmovie.com

Theres another interview with Fuller that discusses his original plans, but I won't link it here. It includes information about the Discovery transforming into a D7.

I love that the original intention was for the captain of the ship to be Odo.

Looks like an entire Shenzhou of Changelings

I am one of those that would have preferred whatever the original concept was, and think we got shortchanged in the end. #Team Fuller.

#Releasethefullercut XD