Bryan Fuller knows what he’s doing. The showrunner for the new Star Trek series has hired Nicholas Meyer to join as writer and consulting producer.
Meyer is a major figure in the Trek world, since he essentially saved the franchise when he directed and co-wrote 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. He also co-wrote the popular Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country in 1984. Meyer co-wrote and directed the final film with the entire Original Crew, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in 1991.
In addition to his work on the Trek franchise, he was nominated for an Oscar for his adapted screenplay for 1976’s The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. In 2014, he co-wrote the History Channel miniseries Houdini.
“Nicholas Meyer chased Kirk and Khan ;round the Mutara Nebula and ‘round Genesis’ flames, he saved the whales with the Enterprise and its crew, and waged war and peace between the Klingons and the Federation,” Fuller said in a statement. “We are thrilled to announce that one of Star Trek’s greatest storytellers will be boldly returning as Nicholas Meyer beams aboard the new Trek writing staff.”
Fuller was hired as showrunner earlier this month and is a Trek veteran himself. The Hannibal creator started his career on Deep Space Nine and Voyager. He co-created the new series with Alex Kurtzman.
The new show will debut on CBS in January 2017, but subsequent episodes will be exclusive to the CBS All Access app. It’s still not known when on the Trek timeline the new show will be set.