When the first season of Star Trek: Discovery wrapped up it had Doug Jones’ Saru still in command of the USS Discovery as acting captain, but the ship was on its way to Vulcan to pick up an as yet unnamed new captain. Who this new captain might be is something we explored in detail in a previous article, but one of the possibilities was that somehow the situation will change and Saru could remain in command.

If you are a fan hoping for that long shot possibility, Doug Jones may offer some disappointment. In a new interview with ScreenRant the actor says he is not ready to see Saru take the big chair:

“I think the character of Saru, I mean he very much wants to be captain. He’s been on that deck for so long in the command track and as the first of his species to have gone through Starfleet Academy and have come out as a high ranking officer on a Starship, he’s the first of his kind to ever even come close to this, so he’s got a lot to prove and he’s got a lot to say. But, me personally, as Doug Jones the fan of Star Trek, I think the dynamic of that character works very well as a first officer; as second fiddle to a captain. And that’s me personally.”

When Saru was initially introduced in the pilot of Discovery, he was still a lieutenant commander and chief science officer of the USS Shenzhou under the command of Captain Phillipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). After the destruction of that ship he was transferred to the USS Discovery and as of the season finale Saru had only held the rank of commander and position of first officer for less than a year. So, it is true there is more for him to explore before becoming the commanding officer of a starship.

While Jones feels Saru needs to spend some more time as first officer, he still notes the character has ambition. He talked to ScreenRant more about his thoughts on Saru’s path in the second season:

“I think [Saru will have] the captain’s chair one day. Early on, we’re only about to start filming season 2, there’s still a lot of room ahead of us. So I think for now, he still has more to learn in the leadership department and the courage department under a captain who’s been there and done that a lot, a seasoned captain.”

Who that new captain is remains a mystery. And as Michael Burnham has been restored to the rank of commander, it will be interesting to see if the sort of sibling rivalry between the two returns for the second season, because she has her eye on the big chair too.

Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusively in the USA on CBS All Access. It airs in Canada on the Space Channel and streams on CraveTV. It is available on Netflix everywhere else.

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