Exclusive: Star Trek: Discovery’s new cast member, Callum Keith Rennie, discusses plans for Rayner to continue if season 5 weren’t the final season.
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5
Summary
- Captain Rayner’s character was set to continue into season 6 of Star Trek: Discovery before the show was canceled unexpectedly.
- The cast and crew of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 were unaware it would be the final season until filming had ended.
- Paramount+ allowed for a 3-day epilogue filming session to tie up loose ends and give the series a satisfying conclusion.
Star Trek: Discovery season 5’s new series regular, Callum Keith Rennie, says there were plans for his character, Captain Rayner, to continue into season 6 if Discovery weren’t canceled. Star Trek: Discovery season 5 wasn’t planned or produced to be the final season, and the cast and crew only found out after filming of season 5 wrapped. Paramount+ allowed Star Trek: Discovery to go back and film for 3 days to create an epilogue to wrap up the series in a satisfying way.
In an exclusive upcoming interview with Screen Rant, Callum Keith Rennie was asked about the backstory Star Trek: Discovery season 5 teased between Captain Rayner and Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr). Rennie also confirmed that Rayner would have continued on if Star Trek: Discovery season 6 happened. Read his quote below:
Screen Rant: One little backstory bit that has already been revealed is that Rayner and Admiral Vance were friends and they worked together back in the day. I think that’s really cool. I would love to see flashbacks or something of Rayner and Vance in a previous Starfleet.
Callum Keith Rennie: There were things. I think there were lots of opportunities if it was moving on to another season. It was all set up in the way where you go, ‘Oh, let’s throw in this and this.’ And then, if it had continued, then you would get backstory bits. You would have gotten a type of history that was completely different.
I’m so glad you brought that up because it was actually one of my questions. This is the final season. But were there ideas or plans for you to stay on so we get to explore Rayner in further seasons?
Callum Keith Rennie: Yes… We assumed it was gonna continue. We weren’t shooting [season 5] as ‘this is the final season.’ They’d left loose ends going because we can put that into next season, this and that, and blah, blah, blah, all of those pieces of the puzzle that showrunners and writers are very good at so. Because I finished the season and I went, ‘Well, okay. I learned a lot. And I can’t wait to come back and do other things.’
Captain Rayner’s Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Story So Far
Rayner could still have a future in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
In just the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 thus far, Callum Keith Rennie’s Captain Rayner has already made a huge impact. As the Captain of the USS Antares, Rayner’s tough, no-nonsense command style created a refreshingly antagonistic dynamic with Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Unfortunately, the irascible Rayner was insubordinate during a hearing about his actions on Q’Mau, and he was drummed out of Starfleet until Burnham offered him the position of First Officer on the USS Discovery.
There seems to be potential for Rayner to appear in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
Rayner has been compared to Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) in Star Trek: Picard season 3, a character who fans initially disliked but became a beloved breakout character. Rayner shows the same potential, and there’s obvious depth and possibly even trauma from the Kellerun Starfleet Officer yet to be revealed. And even though there will be no Star Trek: Discovery season 6, there seems to be potential for Rayner to appear in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, the next Star Trek series set in the 32nd century, if Rayner does live through Star Trek: Discovery season 5 as he was planned to.
