Sonequa Martin-Green expected seven seasons of Star Trek: Discovery

Fans of Star Trek: Discovery weren't the only ones surprised by the abrupt cancellation of the series. The cast and crew, after filming ended on season five, fully expected to return in eight months to begin filming season six, according to the series star, Sonequa Martin-Green. She joined Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer on the new podcast, The D-Con Chamber [via Screenrant} recently, and Keating asked if she thought the series could do seven seasons.

Martin-Green confirmed that was the case and that they had been told "as much." To the cast and crew, season five was just another season. They had two more seasons to go even bigger and better, and then everyone got the shock of learning Discovery had been cancelled.

"Of course. And we had been told as much. So it was an afterthought. So season 5 was just the next season, and we went bigger than we had ever gone before. It was like, ‘See you in 8 months, and it’ll be great.’ And then we found out [Discovery was ending]."

- Sonequa Martin-Green

It was only because of Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise that the cast was able to go back and film the coda to the series, effectively wrapping up everyone's storylines. The cast ended up with an additional nine to twelve pages of script to make that happen, and Martin-Green expressed gratitude that they were allowed to return.

With both Discovery and Star Trek: Lower Decks being cancelled after five seasons, that's probably going to be the standard for the franchise on streaming now, although, one could see Paramount making an exception if one particular series is drawing in serious numbers of viewers. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that series right now. It's extremely popular and, having already been renewed for its fourth season, has only gotten better with each season.

Though Discovery was allowed to wrap up the series, it's a shame that the cancellation had to happen in such a way. Getting blindsided after giving your heart to a project is disappointing, and though Discovery had its detractors, it also had its dedicated fans. And they, too, were blindsided. But have we really seen the end of the crew of the Discovery? Is a streaming movie possible in the future? With Paramount+ now merging with Skydance, I'd say anything is possible.