UPDATE: It seems there was some confusion over the exact nature of Michael Burnham's relationship to Spock. The official Twitter account of Star Trek: Discovery tweeted during the panel that Burnham was Spock's "half-sibling" and that she was "raised on Vulcan by her surrogate father, Sarek, and human mother, Amanda." As such, we initially reported that Burnham was Spock's half-sister. Additional reporting from the panel and information from the official Star Trek website clarifies that Burnham is not blood-related to Spock at all, but was taken in at a very young age after her parents died by Spock's parents. Sarek saw raising a fully human child as an opportunity to better understand his wife's human nature, which was also present in his son.

The original text of the article follows.

The cast and creatives of Star Trek: Discovery made a major announcement at today's Comic-Con International: San Diego panel.

At the panel, it was revealed that series lead Michael Burnham (played by Sonequa Martin-Green) is the half-sister of Mr. Spock from Star Trek: The Original series.

Burnham is the entirely human daughter of Amanda Grayson, Spock's human mother. She was raised on Vulcan by Grayson and Spock's father, Sarek, who acted as a surrogate father to Burnham after her birth-father died.

Fans may wonder why Spock never mentioned a sister before, and executive producer Alex Kurtzman is aware of this and says there's a reason for it. "We're aware. You'll see where it's going, but we are staying consistent with canon."

Sonequa Martin-Green, Jason Isaacs, Doug Jones, Shazad Latif, Mary Wiseman, Anthony Rapp, and James Frain were all in attendance, alongside Executive Producers Alex Kurtzman, Gretchen J. Berg, Aaron Harberts, Heather Kadin, and Akiva Goldsman for the panel, which was moderated by guest star Rainn Wilson, who plays Star Trek: The Original Series character Harry Mudd on Star Trek: Discovery.

Set 10 years prior to the five-year mission of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Discovery follows the adventures of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new lifeforms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself. The series will feature a new ship, new characters, and new missions while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers.

Star Trek: Discovery’s cast also includes Jason Isaacs as the starship Discovery's Captain Lorca, Rainn Wilson as Star Trek: The Original Series character HarryMudd, James Frain as Sarek, Spock’s father, and Michelle Yeoh as CaptainGeorgiou, the captain of another Starfleet ship, the Shenzhou, which will be important to the plot of Star Trek: Discovery. Doug Jones and Anthony Rapp both play science officers. Mary Wiseman will play a final year Starfleet Academy cadet.

Star Trek: Discovery premieres Sept. 24, 2017.

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