Doug Jones Pitches Ideal Saru & T’Rina Star Trek Spinoff 2 Years After Discovery

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Doug Jones has a great idea for what could happen with his character, Saru, after Star Trek: Discovery. The series concluded in 2024 after five seasons on Paramount+. Its success helped launch a revival of Star Trek, leading to five new TV shows and a streaming movie, with three of those shows directly connected to Star Trek: Discovery.

The fifth season of Star Trek: Discovery wasn’t initially intended as the show’s last. After the cancellation, Paramount+ allowed three extra days of filming to create an ending that wrapped up the series. Fortunately, the finale already included a fitting conclusion for Saru, featuring his wedding to President T’Rina (Tara Rosling) of Ni’Var.

At the 53rd annual Saturn Awards, where Star Trek received a Hall of Fame Award, ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan spoke with Doug Jones. Ash asked Doug what he’d like to see happen with Star Trek in the future, and Doug shared his idea for a spinoff series focusing on the characters Saru and T’Rina. Here’s what Doug had to say:

You know, as a huge Trek fan, I think revisiting the Academy and showing how cadets become officers was a really smart move. It’s great to see those characters explored! And I really enjoyed Strange New Worlds because it felt like classic Trek – that original vibe is something special. We were the first of the new streaming shows with Discovery, so I’m really proud it led to spinoffs. Honestly, I’m curious what’s next for the franchise, but that’s probably a question for the Roddenberrys – Rod’s even here tonight, I think he could tell us!

Now that I’ve finally married President T’Rina, who is Vulcan and I am Kelpian, we’re excited to explore our world together and potentially star in our own series.

Captain Saru moved from the USS Discovery to become an ambassador, and his relationship with the Vulcan President of Ni’Var quickly became a beloved, slowly developing romance that ended in marriage during the finale of Star Trek: Discovery. Doug Jones hints that there are still many interesting parts of their story that could be told.

Saru and T’Rina represent a groundbreaking pairing as the first Kelpien-Vulcan romance in the history of Star Trek. Beyond simply being curious about their relationship, their positions – Saru as a Federation Ambassador and T’Rina as the President of the unified Vulcan/Romulan world – create an exciting foundation for a TV series exploring the complex politics and diplomacy of the 32nd century.

I’m really excited about the buzz around political storylines in Star Trek lately! It sounds like Scott Bakula is eager to reprise his role as President Archer in a new series called Star Trek: United – apparently it’s going to be a family and political drama pitched by one of the writers from Enterprise. And get this – the idea is to jump forward a thousand years, showing Saru and T’Rina navigating a very different Federation where their marriage and political lives are constantly clashing with all sorts of diplomatic crises. It sounds like a really compelling concept!

Doug Jones, famous for spending 40 years in makeup for roles like Saru, said he’s happy to be playing human characters now that Star Trek: Discovery is over. While he’s enjoying the change, he’d consider returning to prosthetic makeup and reprising his role as Saru if a compelling Star Trek project came his way.

As a huge Trek fan, I keep hoping for more shows, but right now, Paramount and Skydance aren’t working on any new Star Trek projects. So, when Doug Jones mentioned his idea for a Saru and T’Rina series, it sounded awesome, but it seems like it was more of a spontaneous thought – just a fun ‘what if’ scenario, really.

The most probable way Doug Jones will return as Saru after Star Trek: Discovery is likely through season 2 of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which has recently finished filming. If Saru does reappear, Jones will remain tight-lipped about it until the announcement is made.

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2026-03-11 03:22