At Comic-Con, it was announced that there are four Star Trek: Discovery mini-episodes in the works, called Short Treks, which will premiere in the fall. TrekMovie revealed in an exclusive interview with executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin that one of them was written by author and Star Trek fan Michael Chabon.

Chabon’s “Calypso” Short Treks episode

Today Chabon, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (who also has a Hugo and Nebula), posted a photo of himself sitting in the captain’s chair on the set of Discovery. In his Instagram post the author reveals his episode is called “Calypso” and was already shot a few weeks ago, directed by Discovery executive producer and director Olatunde Osunsanmi. “Calypso” stars actor Aldis Hodge (Leverage) as Craft, a man who finds himself the only human onboard a deserted ship.

Short Treks coming this fall

“Calypso” starring Aldis Hodge and written by Michael Chabon, will be one of four Short Treks episodes coming to CBS All Access. CBS describes the Short Treks as an “opportunity for deeper storytelling and exploration of key characters and themes which fit into Star Trek: Discovery and the expanding Star Trek universe.”

The writers of the other three mini-episodes have yet to be announced, but a few details on them have emerged so far. One will explore Saru’s backstory as the first Kelpien in Starfleet, another will be about Tilly’s journey aboard the U.S.S. Discovery and her friendship with an unlikely partner, and the last installment will see Rainn Wilson reprise his role as Harry Mudd, in an episode he will also direct.

Each Short Treks episode will be 10-15 minutes in length, with one released each month starting this fall, likely running from September through to December. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman noted that the films are something to tide the fans over until the second season of Discovery premieres in January 2019.

Chabon the Trekkie and genre author

Chabon was introduced to Star Trek by his dad, and his fandom is made clear in his Instagram post, where he describes sitting in the captain’s chair as “the most exciting part of all, personally.” He’s also clearly a fan of both TOS and TNG.

He’s a genre fan, too — he previously pitched story ideas for movies for the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, and wrote a draft for 2004’s Spider-Man 2. About a third of his script made it into the final film. His novel Wonder Boys was made into a movie starring Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire and directed by Curtis Hanson in 2000. His Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay takes a deep dive into the early days of the comic book industry, and is a great read for Star Trek fans looking to get familiar with his work. And his New York Times best selling novel The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is another great read for fans of alternative history.

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

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