While official news of Sonequa Martin-Green’s casting as First Officer Michael Burnham was just announced this morning, Martin-Green has begun discussing her new role with The Hollywood Reporter and TVLine.

UPDATE:

Martin-Green also spoke to Vulture about Trek.

On Past Star Trek Shows

I love the original series. It’s my favorite out of all of them, and I just love the dynamic between Kirk and Spock. All the characters on the show had rich relationships. I found myself just keeping it on in the background when I was doing a lot of my work when I first started.

Discovery Will Be a Different Type of Show in Star Trek Canon

When asked about the differences between her role as Burnham on Discovery and as Sasha on The Walking Dead, Martin-Green told The Hollywood Reporter that “being the first officer on the ship is going to be a wild ride because we haven’t seen that happen before in the Star Trek canon, we haven’t seen the story be told from the perspective of the first officer rather than the captain.”

Martin-Green continued,

“it’s going to open up so much potential for new storylines because not being the captain automatically gives you a different perspective. It’s going to be a wild ride and everybody on board — in front of the camera and behind — I’ve been floored by the performances on The Walking Dead from the beginning and I’m going to be astounded again by the people we’ve got assembled on Star Trek. I’m really excited.”

Speaking with TVLine, Martin-Green addressed the tone of Discovery, saying:

“this iteration of Star Trek is going to have a different take than the others in the Star Trek canon. It’s going to be bigger, rawer and grittier… and the story’s going to build on itself. It’s going to be a tremendous journey.”

Martin-Green on Her Casting, Transitioning Between Shows

In comments to TVLine about her casting, Martin-Green said that she is “swimming with the gratitude of it, and that’s carrying me through.” Martin-Green appears to still be pinching herself, noting: “I’m still blinking to see, ‘Is this real? Oh my goodness. But I hope that I can bear the weight, if you will, of this legacy and of this story, because I certainly want to do it justice.”

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter how quickly she transitioned from shooting The Walking Dead to Discovery, Martin-Green related that “there was a little time, but not too much! It was pretty back to back. There were the holidays, which were nice. There were definitely the holidays to sit and think a little bit about it.”

Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.com.