Mount and Romijn to exit Star Trek: Discovery after season two

Star Trek: Discovery is losing two of its newest cast members as Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn’s contracts come to a close.

It has been revealed that Star Trek: Discovery cast members Anson Mount, who plays Kirk’s predecessor Captain Christopher Pike, and Rebecca Romijn, playing the iconic Majel Barrett role of Number One from the first original pilot, will be leaving the series at the end of season two. The actors each had a contract just for season two, which will establish Discovery’s place in the greater Star Trek continuity. While there were reports of an on-set altercation between Mount and a series director, it appears the conflict was the result of an accident and was resolved quickly, having nothing to do with Mount’s departure at the end of the season.

Mount is the fourth actor to play Captain Christopher Pike, who is an iconic and well-known character despite having appeared in the original series only once after the first pilot episode. Jeffrey Hunter played Pike in the original pilot episode, which also featured the character Number One as played by Majel Barrett, but dropped out of the series after the pilot was rejected. Sean Kenney was the second actor to play Pike as the character returned, mute and disabled, in the Star Trek episode The Menagerie. Bruce Greenwood is the most recent actor to play the part, having appeared in J.J. Abrams’s rebooted films before handing the Enterprise over to Chris Pine’s Kirk.

Romijn is only the second actor to play the feminist icon Number One, with Majel Barrett originating the role in the first original pilot opposite Jeffrey Hunter as Christopher Pike. In 1966, seeing a professional woman in a position of authority and responsibility was too much for network executives, who said it was too outrageous to fly with viewers. Series creator Gene Roddenberry was given the choice, either lose the woman or ditch the guy with the pointy ears, but you can’t have both. It is good to see Number One’s legacy continue on Discovery and that the character finally got a chance to do the job she was meant to do.

Depending on where Discovery goes in the future, there could be other opportunities for Mount or Romijn to make guest appearances. But Discovery is very much on its own path, with its own missions. While we may hear of Christopher Pike’s fate in future episodes, Pike’s purpose of bringing Discovery into the original series timeline is complete. Number One’s future is pretty much a complete unknown, so there are any number of opportunities to include Romijn in future episodes if it suits the storyline.

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Source: Deadline