Today’s Star Trek: Discovery update rounds up some recent interviews with some of the show’s actors, including Rainn Wilson talking about this weekend’s episode and why he thinks Dwight from The Office would love Discovery. We also have Shazad Latif talking about perfecting that classic Star Trek two-handed punch and responding to those fan theories. Plus, James Frain is talking about the difficult choice Sarek had to make in last weekend’s episode. All that plus a bunch of extra links for those who want to keep up with all things Discovery.

Rainn Wilson thinks Dwight from ‘The Office’ would love ‘Discovery’

Rainn Wilson opened up to the official Star Trek site about his role as Harry Mudd, who made his initial appearance on the fifth episode of Discovery. Mudd is set to return this weekend (in “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”) and the actor gave a brief preview:

Well, we know that Mudd is not so happy being left behind in the Klingons prison. We know that Mudd visits the ship. And I think that sh-t is really gonna hit the fan. That’s about all I can say.

Wilson made it clear he is up for returning to the role and even suggested (with tongue-in-cheek) that Mudd could get his own show:

This is what I would like to see in season two, episode four or so: They bump into Mudd, he’s got a merchant ship, he’s got a crazy crew on the merchant ship, and he’s getting into all kinds of trouble traveling around the galaxy trying to do little deals. And, boom! We’ve set ourselves up for a spin-off show. The Harry Mudd spin-off show. That would be my ideal

Wilson also talked to the Inverse which included a revelation that he thinks sci-fi fan Dwight from The Office would love Discovery.

“You know, normally, I would say Dwight wouldn’t like anything, But, I actually do believe this, and I’m not saying it to plug the show. I think Dwight would love it. I think he would love it. I think he would side with the Klingons. They value loyalty, tribalism. They’re bloodthirsty. They never bluff. I think he would love it.”

Latif talks double-fisted fighting and fan theories

Shazad Latif talked to IndieWire about the prison escape scene from “Choose Your Pain,” explaining the use of classic Star Trek fight moves:

“I think that moment of desperation, you hear stories of a mother lifting a car because of adrenaline in a desperate moment, if you need to escape you find a way. There’s moments of vulnerability among the Klingons, that’s why they broke their necks. The softest part of their neck is their throats, that’s probably the one way you can get in there, and use double-handed, blunt fists.”

As for those persistent fan theories about Lt. Tyler, Latif only offered this non-denial denial:

“My publicist has told me a lot of some of the stuff that’s been going around. It’s kind of great,” he said. “It’s the perfect ‘Star Trek’ fandom, the biggest, the craziest, the most in-depth and in detail. It’s sort of what we’ve expected from the ‘Star Trek’ fans, and it’s beautiful. They’re so interested in what’s going on in the show. Some of the theories are just crazy. Some of them get stuff right, but I’m really enjoying it. I like to retain mystery and I’d rather just watch the show and see how it plays out. For me that’s more exciting.”

James Frain on Sarek’s choice and what’s next with Amanda

Variety spoke to James Frain about Sarek’s difficult choice involving picking Spock over Michael Burnham for the Vulcan Expeditionary Group. He refers to the decision as Sarek’s Sophie’s Choice, a reference to the classic 1982 film starring Meryl Streep.

“The scene is a kind of “Sophie’s Choice.” He knows immediately that someone is going to get hurt, that someone is going to have to be sacrificed, and that this is an intolerable position that they’ve put him in. He’s at a loss for what the right thing to do is. It’s a really interesting beat for that character. We’ve always seen the Vulcans as people who have answers. And here’s a situation where he doesn’t have an answer.”

Frain also spoke to TV Line about Sarek’s contentious relationship with Burnham and how that affects their dynamic on the show. When asked if Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner), who made her first appearance in “Lethe,” will have more of a role on Discovery, Frain had this to say.

“… it’s one of the starting points, when you’re looking at Sarek as a younger man. We just accepted, in the original series: “Oh, he married a human, and that was the backstory for Spock.” But it’s like, “Wait a minute… he married a human?? How did that happen?” It’s less extraordinary that he adopted Michael than that he married Amanda, and has this child [with her]. That precedes Michael. So yeah, I think there’s so much there to explore, dramatically, and I’m looking forward to it.”

More Disco Bits

Here are a few more quick links with what some other sites are saying about the new Star Trek show.

Nerdist: 7 Things Star Trek: Discovery Needs To Do in Season 2

The Verge: Does Continuity Matter for ‘Star Trek: Discovery’?

SlashFilm: Star Trek Discovery is The Star Trek Show 2017 Demands

Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusive in the US on CBS All Access with new episodes released Sundays at 8:30 pm ET. In Canada Star Trek: Discovery airs on the Space Channel at the same time. Discovery is available on Netflix outside the USA and Canada with new episodes made available Monday at 8 am BST.

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