Bryan Fuller Stepping Back From Showrunner Role on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

[Nightowl1701]

Akiva Goldsman

writer of

Batman & Robin
a Transformers movie
Paranormal Activity
90s Lost in Space

Bloody hell.

Also 'A Time to Kill,' 'Practical Magic,' 'A Beautiful Mind,' 'I, Robot,' 'Cinderella Man' and 'The Da Vinci Code/Angels and Demons.' So he can write good (by Hollywood standards) stuff, when he wants to and doesn't have a studio micromanaging his every move. And he's only produced/is producing Transformers 7/8 and Paranormal Activity 2-4, not written them (at least according to IMDb). His most recent script is 'Stephen King's The Dark Tower,' and I haven't heard much panic yet on that film.

Besides, I've read his 'Batman & Robin' script. Most of the worst things we remember from that film (other than Arnie's dialogue) were added on the set. Nothing on the page about codpieces, neon, rubber nipples, butt shots or Bat-credit cards.

 

[wayoung]

Damnit. Fuller out and Akiva in?! This is the scariest thing I've heard this Halloween.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

It's definitely disappointing, but he's still an EP and involved, just not controlling the whole production.

And let's not jump to conclusions here about CBS being unhappy or internal conflicts. The stated reason makes sense: Fuller is busy working on two other shows and just has too much on his plate.

This doesn't change my level of excitement for DSC (very high).

 

[Philip Guyott]

Fuller is a seasoned professional, you would think that by this stage in his career he would have sufficient time management skills to recognize when he is taking on too much work. He should not be making commitments which he knows he can not keep. At least he is staying with the show.

 

[dbcooper]

Air date for the pilot delayed three months. Production begins next month and they haven't cast the lead actor. Now the showrunner is out. Sounds pretty, pretty bad.

No wonder there haven't been the usual "leaks" and teasers to keep the hype going.

 

[BillJ]

And let's not jump to conclusions here about CBS being unhappy or internal conflicts. The stated reason makes sense: Fuller is busy working on two other shows and just has too much on his plate.

If CBS was unhappy, they wouldn't say so. But, first a delay then the showrunner stepping back (?), I can't imagine CBS is pleased at the delays so far on Fuller's watch. It could very easily be that CBS pushed Fuller to step back because he was overextended.

 

[wayoung]

I'm still hopefull for the show but this does kill a lot of my enthusiasm. The press release is PR-y studio speak.

It's pretty easy to read between the lines and see "Fuller was working too slow so we fired him, but to save face and prevent a possible Frank Darabont situation for us, him, and the show, we're all gonna pretend it was mutual."

Retaining an "Exec Prod" credit is meaningless. A lot of shows have numerous Exec Prod's who have literally nothing to do with the shows they allegedly are producing. Buffy is a great example with how bitter Whedon was with the other two having equal credit as him when there names were only there as contracted requirements because they were involved in the earlier movie. It's a contract thing and does not represent work on the project.

I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but it's not an unreasonable interpretation.

Good news in the press release: Casting is all done, production begins next month except main character so we should see some news soon.

$9 mil per episode? Holy crap!

 

[Balok's Decoy]

If CBS was unhappy, they wouldn't say so. But, first a delay then the showrunner stepping back (?), I can't imagine CBS is pleased at the delays so far on Fuller's watch. It could very easily be that CBS pushed Fuller to step back because he was overextended.

True, but that's different than displeasure with the quality of the material Fuller is showing them. The delay very well could've been related to Fuller's busy schedule, that makes sense. A January 2017 release date was optimistic to begin with. My point is just that this doesn't say anything to me about the show's quality, just the scheduling conflicts of its showrunner.

 

[BillJ]

$9 mil per episode? Holy crap!

That's Game of Thrones territory.

 

[BillJ]

My point is just that this doesn't say anything to me about the show's quality, just the scheduling conflicts of its showrunner.

The problem is that Fuller's work could get muddled and changed by the new showrunners. We will never know, for good or ill, how much of his work survives.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I am trying really, REALLY hard not to panic here.

 

[cooleddie74]

This announcent had me extremely concerned to say the least. I know that Fuller isn't the be-all, end-all for DSC but it was still a disheartening thing to hear given his day-to-day, hands-on involvement in the development of the series and the fact that he'd had experience working on VOY. I'm still hopeful, but less so than I was before today.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

The problem is that Fuller's work could get muddled and changed by the new showrunners. We will never know, for good or ill, how much of his work survives.

Maybe. But we don't even know what Fuller's vision is, precisely, and creative swaps aren't always a death sentence either. Edgar Wright did a lot of work on Ant-Man before he stepped down, and everyone was worried that Ant-Man would turn out poorly because of the lack of Wright. But Ant-Man ended up being very successful critically and commercially (personally it's my favorite Marvel movie). Would the Wright Ant-Man have been better? Maybe, but we can never know that. The Ant-Man we got was still excellent.

Don't get me wrong, I share everyone's concerns about Fuller stepping back. But I'm not getting too down about this before episode one.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

At this point I don't really care who's running the series. Just so long as the existence of the series isn't in jeopardy.

 

[Kevin Wolff]

This is the worst news since Firefly was canceled. I should have known it was too good to be true. If the Canadian market wasn't making such great strides in tv scifi I think I'd be really depressed right now. Wait...still depressed. Time to re-watch s1 of The Expanse.

 

[wayoung]

That's Game of Thrones territory.

I see costs ranging from 6 - 8 mil per episode for GoT.

Discovery, at $9 million, is tied with Sense8 for the most expensive tv show ever made.

If anyone wondered if CBS really had faith in it and how much they'd support it, there's your answer.

 

[BillJ]

Don't get me wrong, I share everyone's concerns about Fuller stepping back. But I'm not getting too down about this before episode one.

I'm the same. Star Trek has survived creative upheaval before. I'm still subscribing to All-Access and looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

 

[Salinga]

Air date for the pilot delayed three months. Production begins next month and they haven't cast the lead actor. Now the showrunner is out. Sounds pretty, pretty bad.

Nothing new in Trek land: Genevieve Bujold was already shooting for two days on Voyager as "Nicole Janeway" when she left the show and another week of casting was added DURING the shooting of the pilot, until Kate Mulgrew was cast - and the captain renamed to "Kathrin Janeway".

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ I wouldn't be quite as concerned about CAST changes as I am with PRODUCTION changes.

I mean, recasting (even at the last minute) is normal, and it happens all the time. It's not as likely to threaten the very foundation of the show as it would be when the person RUNNING the show leaves...

 

[Kevin Wolff]

If they are not going to trust a TV auteur like Fuller, and they plan to do it by committee (big surprise), then they need to bring in ALL of the old guard, not just Meyer and Menosky. Otherwise it's gonna be an even more watered down version than the JJverse.

It's true that Trek is not defined by its creators (ironically), but the problem is today's market is not ideal for Trek. Without a creative force like Fuller it will be Berman/Braga all over again with more explosions.